Mass Effect: Vindication
by Sigyn2011
Summary: This occurs after the events of ME 2 and LOTSB but before Arrival. The Illusive Man is furious with him for destroying the Collector base and desires revenge. How far will Miranda Lawson and the rest of the Normandy crew go to fight for the Commander?
1. Chapter 1

Mass Effect 2: Vindication

**Author's Notes:**

I must make a few things clear to everyone who is kind enough to take a look at my novel.

This is the third version of this novel but actually the secondary publishing. Secondly, although the key characters are Miranda Lawson and Shepard, everyone else on the squad does have a fairly decent amount of dialogue. Thanks to some new filters the site installed, that option is now available. Thirdly, there is some infidelity that occurs at a few points in this novel, however, if you would like some context into why this happened, I urge you to read "Cultivation". It will enlighten you as to why some of these decisions were made; a character that does not have flaws is rather lackluster.

So for those of you who do not like Miranda Lawson and are reading, there are some sections you can gloss over without doing a disservice to yourself.

Please excuse the naughty language every now and then, but it was quite necessary for a character like Jack.

The battle scene that happens later on…um…I'm not sure how far in advance the writers of ME3 had their stuff planned, but I swear, this was completely coincidental. I actually finished writing "Vindication" in early 2011 but couldn't get around to editing it until later. And I hope I do the characters justice. Thanks for reading and the reviews given are duly appreciated.

Chapter One

Orbit of Mindoir, Normandy SR-2, Shepard's Quarters, 1930h

Yeoman Kelly Chambers swept her strawberry hair behind her ears and rapped on the entrance three times. She didn't expect to be invited up to her commanding officer's quarters. Although he remained cordial and sanguine with his crew in public, it was seldom that he requested anyone's presence in private. About two weeks before they went through the Omega 4 Relay, she had finally been able to convince him to a têtê a têtê. She was the one who initiated about seventy-five percent of the conversation during the dinner, and it was only when she spoke about her previous career on Omega that he even showed any keen interest.

_Finally_, she had something extensive to write about to the Illusive Man about Shepard's character. He definitely was focused on the mission and would certainly have no qualms about sacrificing himself for the good of humanity.

There had previously been quite a few messages from Miranda Lawson regarding her lack of reports to him about Shepard's psychological state, but…for some odd reason…her communications tapered off after they had made a second trip to Nos Astra on Illium. As the ship's unofficial psychologist, Kelly launched a subtle investigation. Why would Miranda Lawson suddenly change her priorities? She chose only the best informants for the task, namely Kasumi and Hawthorne.

The shuttle pilot Hawthorne gave her his reports in the crew mess just after a mission and his habitual pint or two of batarian ale. Kelly caught Kasumi when she could after a mission in the med bay. The thief joked about every little flirt she witnessed the two of them make and stated that they'd make a fine couple.

Every now and then, Dr. Karen Chakwas also dropped a few hints about the change in Miranda Lawson and the Commander's behavior, but whenever Kelly directly questioned her, Chakwas never said more than one or two sentences at most afterward. The doctor held the utmost respect for Shepard's privacy. Kelly had more than enough facts to connect the dots together; the two of them were certainly surpassing their professional boundaries.

She was about to send confirmation of her suspicions about Miranda and Shepard's relationship to the Illusive Man…until the Collectors boarded the Normandy.

Chambers immediately deleted the detailed account from her terminal once she learned why Shepard cut his ties with Cerberus.

The hydraulic doors opened with a hiss, and she tentatively took a step forward. One second later, she found her voice. "Commander, you wanted to see me?"

Shepard turned around from his personal terminal to face her and smiled briefly. "Please, come in, Chambers. Actually, we all did." He motioned her attention to Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson, who were sitting around his table on the couch. She sat across from them, while Shepard stood.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this friendly little chat?"

"Camouflage it however you'd like, Chambers, I wouldn't exactly call this a social occasion," Miranda argued.

"Then what do you call it? She is the shrink the Illusive Man hired to keep us in line so that we don't go whacking one another off," Jacob retorted and crossed his legs. "If you call it a tea party, I want whatever you're smoking, Miranda."

"Apparently, a few of us _still_ have some issues."

Shepard chuckled at their banter. Even though Jacob and Miranda's relationship soured long ago, he enjoyed hearing their banter. It reminded him of those fencing matches he had when he was training at the Alliance Academy. "Easy, people. We're all friends here." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Yeoman, I've never been really one to sit down and talk about my feelings. I've bottled them up for so long, and it seemed like enlisting with the Alliance would end all of my troubles back in the day…"

"But your past has still followed you," Chambers finished.

Shepard sighed in surrender. "Yeah, and visiting home didn't help out as much as I thought it would." He began to pace the room back and forth slowly. "They made a memorial to me, for crying out loud."

"You sacrificed a lot. Mindoir wanted to recognize it the best way that they could." Kelly tilted her head to one side as she studied him. "Does it embarrass you?"

"A little. I'm just still angry that I couldn't save my parents…I failed them."

"Failed them? You were just a kid back then. What could you have done?" Miranda butted in.

"I…" Shepard trailed off and rubbed his forehead. His pacing became more intense.

"Well, my parents are both dead. I know what you mean," Jacob nodded.

"Jacob, your father is still alive, rotting in an Alliance prison," Shepard spat and made eye contact with him. "Doesn't he send you messages?"

"He's dead to me, Shepard. Whoever he is now doesn't concern me, and no amount of stupid letters from him could ever make him a father to me."

"Have you thought about forgiveness, Jacob?" Chambers' tender voice suddenly cut through the bitter conversation like a machete. "While you still have the chance to speak to him?"

"We're done now," Jacob stated and set his teeth angrily. He rose from the couch and stormed out of the room to the elevator.

Shepard stopped pacing and sat down next to Miranda on the couch. He shook his head in wonder and amazement. "Did he ever speak to you about what we found on Aeia, Yeoman?"

"He wouldn't elaborate past saying that his father played king of the castle for way too long," she informed them and shook her head dejectedly. Kelly decided to shift the conversation tactfully in a new direction with a bold question. "Might I ask, sir…have you been able to speak with any other relatives or survivors? Maybe sharing your feelings with them would help you."

"I was an only child, and all my parents' siblings lived off-world. I met my dad's sister once on Eden Prime when we took a vacation." He hung his head. "She didn't survive the geth attack two and a half years ago."

"You've seen so much loss. I wish I could truly do more than…I'm truly sorry, Commander." The therapist arose and touched his shoulder. Miranda's stormy irises followed her hand, made contact with Kelly's verdant tones, and that was enough to make her quickly withdraw it. The mood was so tense and emotional that the sound of a pin dropping to the floor would likely have set everyone upon edge.

Chamber's voice brought him back to reality as she realized that her presence was not so welcome anymore. "Are we finished for this session, Commander?"

"I believe so, Yeoman, thank you. That'll be all," Shepard's baritone voice enveloped both women. He lifted his head and gave her a beam. It was nearly as welcoming as a cup of hot chocolate on a cold night-that smile of his could melt any woman's heart.

"All right, then. If you'll excuse me, I'll be joining the others in the mess for Sgt. Gardner's latest masterpiece. I'm so glad you bought those supplies on the Citadel last month. Who knows what fire we'll be stepping into tomorrow?" She laughed and pressed the button for the elevator.

Once his quarters' doors closed, Miranda's hand tapped Shepard's thigh. "Actually, some food does sound rather tempting at the moment." Her eyebrows raised. "Shall we join her?"

Shepard's lips pursed together in thought, and his gaze lingered upon her genetically modified but nearly too damn perfect body. _Is this truly mine?_

"No," he gave her a lascivious grin, "I'll order in tonight."

"Oh really? Something on your mind that you'd like to discuss, Commander?" she returned his rogue smile.

He strolled over to the intercom on his desk next to his private terminal and pressed the button. "Hello, Commander, Mess Sergeant Gardner here. What can I do for you?"

"What's on the menu tonight?" Shepard questioned him.

"Oh, just a few things. I made some tapas with pesto sauce and mozzarella cheese, salmon stuffed with goat cheese, Italian wedding soup with meatballs, and if you don't care for the seafood tonight, I made some pesto chicken with extra garlic, just the way you love it," he added. "Can I expect you down here in the mess soon? Everybody's here asking about you."

"Please send some of that up to my quarters…for two, along with my apologies to everyone in mess for not being there tonight."

"Oh-ho! Anything else…perhaps you're thirsty for something of the grape or grain?"

"I trust you, Gardner. Your taste hasn't let me down yet."

"Coming right up in five, Commander."

"You know, I have my suspicions that he's re-installed those bugs I cleaned out from Cerberus two weeks ago," Miranda shook her head.

"What makes you think that?"

"This is a small ship, and he's a lonely man away from his family. Need I say more?"

Reality dawned upon Shepard like a bad hangover, and he wished he hadn't brought up the subject. He cleared his throat nervously. "No, that won't be necessary. I have a good imagination…a little too good, sometimes. You uh, wanna take a sweep before the food gets here?"

"Why bother? He'll probably have some more stashed in the serving carts," she said with a noncommittal shrug.

"Okay, now you are _way_ too paranoid."

"That, or I don't care what other people think of us." She got up from the couch and came exceedingly close to his ear. "Not since our relationship was made a public broadcast, at least," she whispered.

He rolled his eyes as he remembered their first encounter.

The hum of the engines still sent shivers down his spine, and he never really recovered from that one last blow she dealt the both of their bodies. He wasn't sure if it was that coupled with the drive core or if he had let his guard down because he treated her like a member of the weaker gender. Thanks to the miracle of biotics, physical strength was no longer an issue between men and women. In a way, it made him start to ponder just who was really in charge of their relationship?

Joker's annoyed voice had come over the entire ship's P.A. asking why the hell the aft thrusters' drive outputs suddenly spiked, and Tali sarcastically asked him to check with Miranda, since she insisted upon clearing the engine room for an hour.

Before Shepard's mind could delve further into the topic, the doors opened to his quarters, and in walked Gardner with a linen covered serving cart with silver plated lids and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in an ice bucket. Two chilled glasses sat across from two perfectly set pieces of fine China with silverware.

"I…uh…almost feel like I should give you a few credits or something. Thanks a lot, Gardner," Shepard sheepishly smiled and patted Gardner on the back.

"I'm glad you mentioned that, Shepard. I've got a favor to ask." The bald-headed man straightened up and put the cart in the center of the room.

"Name it."

"Next week, my sister is due to be having her third kid, and well, I'd rather not have to spend it in deep space, Shepard…"

"How long do you need for a furlough?" Shepard wondered and poured the wine into the glasses.

"Three weeks, if that's all right with you. That's not too much to ask, is it? I could make some extra rations if need be..." Gardner wiped his hands with a dish towel from his back pocket.

"Take four, if you'd like it, Gardner. We'll miss your grub, though."

"You're the best, Commander. Tomorrow, I'll make whatever you'd like for all three meals." Gardner shook Shepard's hand firmly and left.

* * *

One wine bottle later…

Shepard asked for another libation to come up to his cabin-this time, Kasumi brought it up. It was almost a little too disturbing, actually, because she appeared right next to his bed with it. "Care for a bit more inspiration, Shep?" she joked as she made herself visible.

Both Miranda and Shepard nearly spilled their glasses over in shock. Thankfully, Kasumi had the reflexes of a panther, and she caught them both with one hand. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself. Promise I won't interrupt you again like this," she laughed and returned the glasses to the table in front of the couch.

"Just how long does that cloaking field of yours work?" Shepard called to her as she started to leave.

She snickered even more and disappeared. "You'll never know, will you?"

"She hasn't stolen anything from anyone, has she?" He eyed Miranda, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"If she has, no one's reported it. I had Mordin install a cloaked trip field that activates itself in my cabin when I hit the lights at night." She pulled the cork out and refilled their glasses to the brim again.

His words started to pour out more slowly. "Have you ever thought about…going back home…to Earth?"

"Why do you ask?" Miranda took a long sip from her glass and studied its contents.

"Because it's been a few years for me. I know you're from Australia. That place sounds exciting. What were the name of those animals that hop around the wilderness with pouches?"

"Kangaroos, Shepard," she nearly giggled. The wine was starting to go to her head now as well. "And they're a blight on the cities, too, unfortunately. They're still a problem, so much so that in fact, the authorities will give out cash rewards to anyone who brings them in." She paused to think for a moment and put her glass down away from herself. "You're saying that you actually want us to go there?"

"Well…is there somewhere else better?"

"Yeah, actually, there is. How about New Zealand? It's right next door and three times as scenic, especially in December." Miranda crossed her legs and reclaimed her glass. "Besides, none of my father's cronies can afford to live in New Zealand. It's very expensive."

"Sounds good, Miranda. Let's set a date. What time of the year is it in Earth now?"

"It is the month of October, and the current day is the 19th. The Earth week makes today a Thursday, named after the mythical Norwegian god Thor," boomed EDI's voice from the intercom system.

Miranda rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Don't you have a damned mute button for that thing, Shepard?"

"I must apologize for the disturbance, Ms. Lawson and Shepard. A rather urgent message has just been sent to your private terminal."

"Reason number 65 _why_ Joker shouldn't have unshackled the bloody AI," Miranda grumbled as Shepard arose from the sofa. "Doesn't she know the meaning of the word propriety?"

"It's my fault, Miranda. I gave Chambers the night off; she must have asked EDI to assume her duties," he reasoned.

"Propriety, coming from Old Middle English, French, and Latin roots, meaning social graces, formalities, conventional behavior, decorum, respectability, protocol, politeness…" EDI continued.

"Thank you, EDI," Shepard raised his hand to cut her off and sighed happily. _Not only has this AI saved my life multiple times but also my sanity. _"I'll read it right now." He went to his terminal and typed in his password to his mail account. His new message was flagged in red and apparently had an audio attachment. "Open file," he demanded in as flat of a tone as possible.

"Shepard, it's Liara. I must apologize for the tardiness of my report, but quite a few more unusual things happened this week. Cerberus just tried and failed to construct a human Reaper to a man by the name of Grayson. They called it the "Darwin Project". Fortunately, he was killed before he could endanger the galaxy, but your former superior, David Anderson, quit the Council as a result of this incident. Ambassador Udina has immediately begun to campaign for Anderson's seat, as has the Terra Firma party," the audio recording began.

"Idiots," Miranda mumbled and Shepard hushed her with a finger to his lips.

"Charles Saracino's name has come under their banner under traditionalist or as you would say, conservative support, while another name, Elias Kelham, has come up for non-traditional or liberal support. If you could drop by the Broker base tonight, I can give you some more information. I'd just rather not discuss it over unsecured channels. I look forward to seeing you again, Shepard," her husky voice cooed.

"Shepard, don't take this the wrong way, but," Miranda sighed, "I'm still not a fan of that asari. I don't think she's moved on from you."

"Are you worried that she's going to try and steal me away from you?" Shepard's eyebrow cocked upward.

"No. I have the utmost confidence that she wouldn't dare." The folds of her mouth came together, and she ran her lower set of teeth along her upper lip. "Or that you'd even think about doing something like that."

"Uh…" He ran his hand over the back of his neck. "Believe me, that ship has sailed, so to speak."

"Good to know that I've got the savior of the galaxy right where I want him." She finished her glass while making complete eye contact with him. "She said she wanted to meet with you tonight, didn't she?"

"Yeah, if that's okay."

"Of course," her expression lightened briefly, but then went completely dark. Miranda got up from the sofa, sashayed over to him, and snaked a hand down his chest. "Dessert," she rustled, "can wait until later." Her hand traveled further downward and made him slightly gasp. The wine was now starting to go to his head.

With two very swift movements, one hand covered hers, while the other seized hold of her arm, and closed the distance between them. Their mouths were literally centimeters apart as he flicked the tip of his tongue over the top of her lips ever so slightly. "Keep the coals stoked, Lawson. I'm not done with you yet."

Her fingers closed around him possessively and squeezed just enough to elicit a short growl from him. "Nor I you." She whispered this last statement into his ear and gently pulled his lobe in with her lips. His body responded subtly with his biotics, titillating her tongue as she rolled it on his flesh. She activated her own implant but focused her energy solely upon her hands. With that action, the back of his throat rumbled again into her jaw.

Suddenly, she released him and pulled away from his embrace. Before she strolled towards his cabin door, she turned to give him one last sultry stare. "You…might want to wait a few minutes before going down to the shuttle bay, Commander. I believe the southern province has arisen in high hopes." He followed her gaze and chuckled. "And I would recommend taking someone with you this time."

"Always concerned about your pet project, Ms. Lawson?"

"Caution is not cowardly, Commander. Carelessness is _not_ courage, and you damn well know that I don't have the patience for a reckless attitude." Her smile disappeared, and her jaw twisted to one side.

He sighed in defeat and agreed. "Can't argue with Lawson logic."

"I'll win hands down every time, you know that."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Don't you remember our last quiet moment?" Miranda stepped into the elevator.

Shepard wiped a hand over his forehead. "Wow, it's hot in here."

"The temperature is a mild twenty-three degrees Celsius, Shepard. The air-conditioning systems have full functionality," EDI suddenly announced.

"Glad to hear it, EDI. Get a message down to Garrus and Jack. I'd like for them to come with me ASAP."

"As you say, Shepard."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Just outside the Shadow Broker Base, Hagalaz, Normandy Shuttle, 2206 h

Garrus Vakarian was generally, like most of his turian species, weary of trust. He was one of the few aliens that Shepard knew would always watch his back in times of trouble and also very happy to be part of Shepard's team once more. His dry, self-deprecating humor usually got the squad through the most sticky situations they ever faced.

And Jack…well, she was something else. Put a kid through the hell that she went through, and it's no wonder that she became a blood thirsty, cold-blooded killer. But Shepard liked to think of himself as a trainer teaching his young tigress. He never knew what she was going to do next. At first, she was easy to predict, but recently, she'd shown a lot of mercy in situations that she previously would have without a second thought never do so.

The ride over was a quick ten minutes, but in the first three minutes, no one spoke. It was oddly Garrus who broke the silence. "So, Shepard, you got any idea why Liara wants to see you in person?"

"In her message, she said that she had some rather sensitive topics to discuss. We still aren't sure if Cerberus has access to my channels or not," he replied.

"Why would she mention them first, though?"

"I'm not sure, Garrus. I know that she'll be happy to see you, though. It's been a long while since you've seen that brainy beauty, hasn't it?" He playfully punched the rugged turian in the arm.

"Humph, yeah, she was _extremely_ friendly towards me when we first saw her on Illium. She also didn't have _any_ trouble planting a large kiss on you right in front of us, either," the turian said with a roll of his eyes.

"Who cares? As long as Cerberus lost a shit load of money on that Darwin project, that's just fine with me," Jack snarled.

The Normandy shuttle hugged itself closer to the Shadow Broker's large shuttle bay, and the hangar bay doors closed quite normally after they were inside the ship. "I still don't like this, Shepard. Why'd you make me leave my weapons on the Normandy? I'm feeling slightly naked without Janine or Betty on my back," Garrus confessed as they stepped out of the shuttle. "Thelma's on my table disassembled for cleaning."

"Don't worry, Garrus. I'm packing heat," Jack told him and pointed to the shotgun attached to her hip with her thumb. She paused for a moment and made eye contact with the turian. "You named your guns?"

"I'm surprised you haven't," Shepard retorted. "Got any suggestions, Garrus?"

The alien shook his head no and held up his hands. "None that would avoid a biotic punch or kick to my groin."

"I'm almost starting to like you…" Jack grinned and laughed.

Shepard's face became incredulous, and he checked that his ankle holster was hugging his leg just enough to be slightly uncomfortable. As much as he trusted Liara, he knew that trouble would always follow her constantly. Although she was very protected and cut off from the rest of the galaxy now, he still brought a little protection just to be sure. As they reached the docking bay door, he entered the six digit code that she changed weekly. At least he thought it was the right code…it flashed red and angrily beeped at him. "Incorrect code," stated the VI.

"That's funny," Shepard mused to himself and tried the same numbers.

"Hello, Shepard," Liara's face suddenly appeared on the flat screened monitor above the door. "I'm sorry, I must not have given you the updated code for this week. Just a second, I'm unlocking the door now." As the lock mechanisms turned, the door opened its hydraulic seals quickly and shut right after they went through it. "Would you mind leaving Garrus and Jack outside, please? I really need to speak with you privately."

"Fuck, no, Blue!" Jack yelled. "You've got something nasty up your sleeve, and I just know it!"

"Jack, you've gotta learn to start to trust people," Shepard chided the biotic and touched her arm gently. He briefly glanced at Garrus, whose eyes told him to be careful. "I'm going in alone."

"And _you_ should trust my instincts, Shepard. I know you trust the cheerleader's."

Without another hesitation, Shepard went through the inner doors to the Shadow Broker's central operating chambers. Jack rolled her eyes and leaned on one of the door's support structures. "Hey Garrus, I got an idea of what I wanna call my shotgun."

"I wasn't really looking for trouble, Jack, I-" Garrus threw up his hands in surrender and began to back away slowly.

"Relax, dumb ass. If I wanted to kill you, I could've done it already," she scoffed and fixed one of her shoulder straps. "I think I might call it the Cerberusbitchinator."

"Ah…I know I'm gonna regret asking this, but…why?"

"I've still got a score to settle with Miranda for what she said about me a while back. And this gun is gonna rip her to shreds like a stuffed toy. Can't wait to see her remains splattered all over that office."

"You know Shepard would never let that happen, Jack…-"

"Eh, one of these days, he'll get bored of that whore and dump her like a hot brick. And on that day, she's gonna meet her worst fuckin' nightmare," the serial killer announced with an evil grin. "I can't decide if I'd rather do her in the stomach or shoot her little fucking perfect legs off first. Wonder what's more painful."

"You ever wanna do some target practice, just let me know. You look like you're ready for a fight at any minute." Garrus' eyes turned to large pools of fright.

Jack's grin disappeared and her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm always ready for a fight. Why?"

"I don't mind releasing some tension sometimes on the Normandy. We unfortunately don't have a combat lab there like on the turian ships. Maybe I should ask Shepard to take us to one so you could see the sparring facilities. I bet you'd enjoy using them."

"You fight each other before doing a big mission, huh?"

"We don't usually go in with murder on our minds, no. But the matches can be kind of brutal and long, depending upon the referees."

Jack pounded one fist into the other. "Maybe I should take that bitch on in one of those. I'll crush her bloody, broken body to the floor!"

"Okay, then. I think I've heard more than I wanna know about your quote healthy rivalry." Garrus shook his head and waved her off with his hand.

* * *

Shadow Broker Central Ops, 2222h

The amber glow of the gargantuan holographic monitor seemed to keep Liara so entranced that she did not turn around as Shepard walked in. She was, as usual, wearing armor that perfectly accentuated all of her gorgeous asari aesthetic curves and was completely lost in her work. Liara was multi-tasking with her omni-tool and the holographic monitor, moving the windows of information with one hand perfectly and scanning with the other. It wasn't until Shepard physically touched her on the shoulder that she gasped and jumped. "Oh! Shepard, I am _so_ sorry. I didn't even hear you come in, I…became so enraptured with this one report…-"

"That's quite all right, Liara," Shepard beamed. "I had to admit that I was admiring the scenery, too."

The asari maiden blushed and drew him in for a long, steamy kiss. "Shepard, aren't you a bit concerned about this?" she inquired afterward.

"About what?"

"Well…what about Miranda…-"

_ "_I've taken down my share of Spectres, Geth, the old Shadow Broker, and the Collectors, Liara. Besides, I don't think Miranda wants a long termed relationship."

"You sure do live dangerously, Shepard," Liara said with a smile. "I must admit that your cavalier attitude towards life scared me about you at first. But then I grew to like it."

"Glad I changed your mind," he winked and drew her over to the couch. "You don't mind if I distract you from work for a little while, do you, Miss Shadow Broker?"

She shook her head with a sigh and sat down next to him. "I really wish you wouldn't call me that."

"Why? Would you prefer the 'Ms' title instead?" His arm casually wandered behind her as he turned to face her.

"I still can't tell when you're joking or not, Shepard."

"Well, that large, crafty, hot mind of yours must be doing something right, because I was. Don't the Asari have any jokes?"

"I'm afraid that they might not translate very well, and even then, I can't tell one."

"Even a short one?"

"You have your talents, Shepard, and I have mine. Unfortunately, those do not include my sharing of hilarious anecdotes."

"Would a melding amend that situation?" His left hand crept up from where he'd been hiding it and tenderly squeezed her right breast. Before she could cry out in surprise, Shepard moved right into her mouth with an open mouthed kiss. All that came out was a muffled sigh as he leaned into her.

Desire rushed back into Liara as one hand grasped the back of his neck, encouraging him to keep going. The other stroked his hair. Suddenly, as he broke away from her lips and was about to assault her neck, he stiffened and halted in mid-action.

"Mmm…what's wrong?" Liara inquired breathlessly.

"I thought I heard something." Shepard pulled away from her and cautiously checked his surroundings.

"The console does make some strange noises from time to time. It took me about three days to get used to it."

"No, I don't think that the noise was electronic." He arose from the couch and smoothed out a wrinkle on his pants. "Maybe I'd better not return to the Normandy smelling like a bouquet of flowers. One whiff of this from Goldstein, and the whole ship starts talking."

"Would it be so bad for your crew to know that you're only human and have needs just like them?"

"Maybe, but I'd rather not hear about it while I'm trying to eat a meal in the mess, especially breakfast. I'm not sure why, but the Normandy men love to talk about sex that time of day more than anything." He gave her a lecherous grin. "It's not just your species we fantasize about, you know. Anyhow, what's up? Your message said that you couldn't tell me anything more over the extranet. You also look a bit more tired than the last time I saw you."

"I didn't get much sleep last night," she admitted and nodded. "I'm still categorizing all of the Broker databases…sometimes I feel like I'll never get this library of information the way I want it."

He waggled his eyebrows. "Guess we'll have to find a way to cure that problem in a bit."

"There are never enough hours in the day for me to accomplish what I'd like to do," she lamented. "Would you believe that I've actually put some thought into cloning myself?"

"I don't think I could handle more than one Shadow Broker at a time," Shepard said with a chuckle. _Although if the shoe were on the other foot…_

"According to some conversations I've heard from other males of your species, it would actually be quite feasible…"

Shepard blinked hard. _Did she just…?_

"But apparently not in this universe," she deadpanned.

He cleared his throat nervously and scolded himself for his lewd train of thought. "Seriously, though, Liara…what can I do for you?"

"Well, I-" Shepard spun around, as his augmented hearing once again came into play. Liara studied his face and jumped up from the couch to quickly go to the computer system. "Okay, now you have me worried. That's twice in the last minute."

Before Liara could access any base security system data, an Asian-looking man garbed in black armor wearing a pair of goggles dropped his cloaking field revealing not only himself but also a Shadow Broker mercenary in complete body armor. "Thank you for the distraction, Doctor," the man spoke and bowed his head slightly. "You've proved yourself quite useful as I'd hoped."

"Useful? Who are you?" Her eyes caught a small yellow symbol on his chest plate, and she eyed the treacherous mercenary whose hands pumped up a shotgun.

"What the hell is going on?" Shepard shouted and his hand reflexively went down to his ankle holster for his gun. The Asian man somersaulted down the stairs and swept his leg under Shepard before he could draw it. Shepard fell to the floor, recovered, and then lunged at his attacker. However, the well-trained man fluidly avoided the biotic charge, and let Shepard crash into one of the ship's newly repaired pillars. He gave one final blow to Shepard to daze him by sending his elbow to the base of Shepard's unprotected neck. The powerful ex-Alliance soldier fell to his knees and tried to gather his breath.

The ninja removed something from his belt and was about to secure the device to Shepard's wrist when he became distracted by the Shadow Broker mercenary being flailed like a toothpick across the room by Liara. "You will regret your idiotic decision!" she fumed and a blue biotic field encompassed her entire body.

Outside the Broker's office, all parties heard rapid gunfire begin as well as some rather loud battle cries from Jack.

Once she witnessed that the mercenary was momentarily incapacitated, the asari turned her attention immediately to the Asian man. He did a few impressive acrobatic flips to avoid her attacks and held up a shield to deflect the bullets that came from Shepard's pistol. Suddenly, the mercenary recovered from the ground, picked up his fallen shotgun, and raced towards the fight.

"Liara, look out!" Shepard bellowed and threw out a massive shockwave towards the soldier. The attack knocked him backward slightly, but he still kept his hold over the gun and let out a couple of shots.

The ninja took this time to cloak himself again as Shepard's head darted around the room. Liara composed a barrier around herself as she witnessed the merc re-load his shotgun. "Shepard, get in!" she exclaimed.

Foolishly, Shepard ignored her plea and charged towards the mercenary with a mighty shout. He slammed his armored assailant into the wall as Liara watched. She also kept her wits about her, when a concussive shot toppled her barrier. The ninja re-appeared, grabbed her, and slapped an electronic device around her wrist.

The asari grunted, twisted around in confusion, and attempted to create a field of singularity upon him until the bracelet pulsed red. It immediately sent her to the floor writhing in pain, and her cry told Shepard that she was in danger. He ignored the comatose traitor and loaded his pistol with his one spare clip. The man laughed, avoided his shots easily, and cloaked himself again.

"Who are you?" Shepard demanded as he felt a sword press against the back of his neck.

"I represent someone you betrayed not so long ago, and now it's time for you to repay your debt." His hand went inside of his coat to retrieve another bracelet from a pocket.

"I've got a lot of enemies, asshole," the ex-Alliance soldier barked. "Knock off the mystery. Liara, what's going on? What's the matter with you?"

"Oh, you'll understand who it is in just a moment," the man replied and attached the bracelet to Shepard. The sword disappeared from the back of his neck, and the ninja sheathed it with an overconfident smirk. Shepard whipped around, charged up his implant, and was also sent to the ground in agony. He dropped the gun, and Liara arose. She rolled towards the fallen pistol, to which the ninja immediately picked up and aimed at Shepard.

As if on cue, seven Cerberus assault troopers strolled in through the door. Jack was wearing a collar around her neck that had a crimson pulse around it. The soldiers had Garrus' hands and arms bound together. Shepard saw the uniforms and inwardly cringed. _Goddamned Illusive Man's grudge is bigger than I thought._

"There were twelve of your soldiers, were there not?" the Asian man spoke again.

"Yeah, well, we couldn't get the goddamned collar on this one fast enough," one answered and shoved the butt of his rifle into Jack's back. "Crazy bitch."

"And the goddamned alien somehow got a hold of one of our assault rifles," another replied.

"So those things can…disarm biotic powers?" Shepard wondered.

"Indeed you are observant, Commander Shepard. The Illusive Man wanted to take you alive," the Asian man nodded. "It's a newly developed weapon called the Ochrana. The first field tests have worked very well, I can see. The Illusive Man will be pleased."

"Why now? The Reapers have made it patently obvious that their next target is Earth, and humanity will not only need my help, but also Cerberus' help! This is not the time!"

"You can ask him that when you see him."

"No!" Liara screamed, ran towards the ninja, and he shot her in the shoulder with the confiscated pistol. "Shepard!"

"You son of a bitch," Shepard spat, took a step towards his attacker, and once more received his own gun being shoved into his face.

"I won't let you have him!" The asari yelled. "Take me instead! I've got information, tools for the Illusive Man's use-"

"Liara, listen to what you're saying!" Shepard interrupted her. "Don't you dare sacrifice yourself for me. I'll be okay."

Her eyes made contact with his fierce stare. His dark eyes told hers that this was not up for conversation, as if he were her direct superior again.

"Let's go. I'm not being paid to stand around and talk. I've got a delivery to make," the ninja cut him off.

"Like hell you do!" Feron exclaimed from the Broker vid theatre and held up a sub-machine gun in a threatening position. One of the assault troopers retrieved two small round objects from his belt and threw them at the drell's feet. An all-consuming field of smoke enveloped the entire Cerberus party just as Feron let off a couple of rounds. He immediately withheld his fire as he coughed, inhaling the tear gas.

Shepard placed his hands over his head in surrender. "Whoever you are, you're a dead man," he growled at the ninja.

"No one lives forever," the ninja responded coolly and gestured with Shepard's gun that he wanted to move. "Nice to finally meet the asari whore. Does she blow as well as Miranda?"

"Aw, you fucked her, too, Shepard?" Jack rolled her eyes. "You sure do get around, Commander."

Liara roared in anger once again, trying to summon a biotic field but collapsed.

The drell rushed forward with the gun, but was immediately sent to cover as the Cerberus troops opened fire upon him. The Cerberus party took this moment to make a hasty exit with their captives.

Feron left his position of cover and ran over to Liara. He activated his omni-tool upon her shoulder, and she regained consciousness with a sigh. "Oh, what happened? Are they gone?" she demanded.

"Unfortunately, yes," the drell nodded and helped her to her feet. He activated his omni-tool and passed it over her shoulder to apply some medi-gel."They took Shepard and his squad mates with him. I apologize for not coming here sooner. I had to defuse a couple of bombs that were outside of the vid theatre." Feron sheathed his pistol, walked over to the mercenary, picked up his shotgun, and checked the clip. "Should I dispose of this quisling?"

"How many other agents are present on the ship?" Liara wondered and staggered over to her super computer.

"No one else has survived, Liara, I'm sorry. One of these bombs went off while two were trying to defuse it, and everyone else…" He lifted his hand in defeat and let it drop by his side. "Well, they were eliminated by the Cerberus troops."

"Don't kill him, not just yet. I need information. And we have a lot to do." She stiffened, regained her composure, and activated her own omni-tool.

"You want to rescue Shepard, don't you?"

"Yes. But I know that the two of us won't be able to do it alone."

"What action do you suggest we make next? I have a feeling that it isn't safe to stay here any longer." He crossed the office and lay the shotgun down on the ground.

"Yes, I know, and I was wondering if this would happen someday, especially since Shepard cut ties with Cerberus. I just didn't count on it so soon," she sighed and began to move windows around on the holographic screen frantically.

"What is that?" Feron gestured to the bracelet, which had ceased to pulse red.

"I don't know, but you saw what it did to me and Shepard. It's another reason why I want him alive," she motioned to their prisoner with her head. "I'm going to back up as much information as I can from this console and sabotage our back-up servers. Then I need to call the Normandy. Start packing up as much equipment as you can after you question the traitor. If you get something out of him, good, if not, then deal with him."

* * *

Normandy SR-2, De-Briefing Room, 124h

"Who would be calling us at this hour?" Miranda mumbled to herself she strolled inside. The salarian scientist Mordin was also there and when Miranda saw the holographic image of Liara T'Soni appear, her heart skipped a beat. _Oh, no._

"Please forgive the late hour, Dr. Solus, Miranda," Liara apologized.

"Mmm, contrite apologies not necessary. Was just comparing some strands of interspecies' DNA. Did you know that Batarians have 59 chromosomes?" Mordin rattled away in his quick speech. "Interesting fact that compared to asari, who have 54, comparing that to humans, who have 46, and-"

"Spare us the biological prattle, Mordin," Miranda coldly spat. "What is it, T'Soni?"

"I'm afraid that the Illusive Man has captured Shepard, Garrus, and Jack. I tried to stop it, but, he had inside help…from someone I thought I could trust."

_I know how that feels_, Miranda thought. "What? How? That's impossible!" she exclaimed.

"I need to show you," the asari answered and held up her right hand. "Cerberus has developed some kind of new countermeasure against biotics. Every time I tried to use one of my powers, I'd receive an enormous migraine and the device sent a shock throughout my entire nervous system!"

"Cerberus already has a countermeasure to biotics; the Omega E. That proved to be most effective against them ten years ago," Miranda argued and shook her head.

"Mmm…grim news indeed," Mordin interjected with a nod. "However, would like to make a point. Omega-Enkaphalin effects only temporary. Biotic powers can be restored to specimen within three Citadel days. Salarian STG developed weapon against Omega E called Beta Tetracycline in 2180. Was unfortunately not in group that developed it; was assigned to genophage modification instead. Hmm…would be most interested in meeting you, Doctor T'Soni. Sorry I wasn't there the last time you came aboard the Normandy, was visiting my nephew. Miranda?"

"I suppose so, if you think it's necessary, Mordin." Miranda's hand went to her hip.

"Then it's settled. I'll be there in ten minutes," Liara stated and closed the channel.

Mordin hummed happily to himself as he returned to his next door lab. Miranda wasted no time and strode into the armory where Jacob was doing abdominal crunches. The stereo was on at full blast playing a mildly irritating house beat, and Miranda shut it off. "Sorry, Jacob, we need to talk…now."

"You know," he sighed and wiped some sweat from his brow with a towel, "that was one thing that used to drive me nuts about you. You never asked me to turn the music down or to even change the type. You just would walk over and shut it off, just like that."

"This is more important than your damned workout music," Miranda snapped. "Cerberus has gotten to Shepard."

"What?" Jacob straightened up and stood. "How?"

"We'll be finding out in a few minutes. Liara T'Soni's coming aboard to explain herself. Thought you might like to know."

"Do I have time for a quick shower?"

"For the kind of ones you take, sure. I'll let you know when she's in the debriefing room. I'm going to let everyone else know, too."

* * *

Ten minutes later…

Tali hugged Liara on her way in. "I wish we could be meeting again under better circumstances," the quarian told her. "You must feel awful."

"More than you know," Liara responded gently. It took all the emotional strength that she had not to begin to cry at that moment. They broke their sisterly hug as Miranda, Mordin, Grunt, Thane, Zaeed, Kasumi, and Jacob joined them.

"All right, let's have it," Miranda said coldly. "Didn't Jack and Garrus go with Shepard, too?"

"That's just what I was going to tell you. The Cerberus soldiers captured the two of them as well. As powerful of a biotic like Jack is, they even made her submissive with this device." She pointed to the pulsing bracelet.

"Wow, doesn't Jack have those L5x implants installed?" Tali broke in. "I thought that those were pretty brand new technology."

"Not powerful enough, I guess," Jacob replied and shook his head. "Should've figured that the boss would be pissed off as all get out when Shepard blew that Collector base up instead of giving it over to him."

"You said that someone betrayed you. Was it one of your agents?" Miranda steered the conversation back on topic.

"Yes. We were caught completely off guard. Feron tried to help us, but-" Liara started.

"He's the drell who gave us the intel about Shepard's body," the Aussie recollected for everyone else's benefit. "Doesn't surprise me that he flipped sides. You shouldn't have trusted him nor let him stay on the base."

"Feron didn't betray me, it was someone else! What was I supposed to do after we freed him, throw him out an airlock? I owe him my life!"

"Actions of Dr. T'Soni irrelevant now. Need to focus on current problem," Mordin commented and waved his hand in the air.

"Says the morally challenged scientist who worked on the genophage project," Jacob muttered. "Got any more pearls of wisdom?"

"Nobody would be talking about this if_ I'd_ gone with the battle master. That stupid human and the rest of his kin would be piles of meat and blood," Grunt stated and pounded his fist on the table. The piece of furniture now had a perfectly shaped depression from his actions. "You, you're his mate. Why didn't you tell him to take me?" he gestured with his head towards Miranda.

Although her insides fumed at the krogan's contemptuous remark and aggressive conduct, her exterior did not show it. The last thing Miranda needed right now was an angry krogan in a small room. The table could retract to the floor, but there were still plenty of fragile objects in the debriefing room. Repairs to this room were not a high priority compared to some others, especially since Shepard made his final conversation with the Illusive Man only last month. Her eyes caught a stray bucket of tools that a negligent crew member left behind, most likely before a dinner break. She made a mental note to take disciplinary action after finding the responsible party later.

"Please, stop this! This is no time for fighting, we need to find Shepard!" Tali shouted.

"Agreed. This is getting us absolutely nowhere," Miranda nodded. "Blaming one another won't help us find Shepard, and we're at a complete disadvantage of both time and data. Not many people know about my separation from Cerberus, so I could possibly use a few of my contacts there…"

"I have an agent in Cerberus who could do some recon for us," Liara suggested.

"Wouldn't that arouse suspicion towards her, though?" Tali inquired.

"She's a very deep cover operative…has been working for the Shadow Broker network for the past three years, and also has been with Cerberus for a total of six. I'm sure she'd take the necessary precautions…"

"What about asking Aria t'Loak for intel?" the taciturn drell assassin suddenly spoke up. "I heard that she had a run-in with Cerberus recently that went particularly badly for her."

"No way. I trust that asari about as far as I can throw a space freighter," Jacob argued. "She's a manipulative, conniving-"

"Gave Shepard plenty of good information about Samara's daughter Morinth and pointed him towards Vakarian. That's something to start," Mordin offered. "Don't have to trust her, just use her for intel. Might be faulty, might not be. But, we are at an impasse."

"That's fair. I'd rather not make another visit to Omega this month, though. The first two times made me feel sick enough," Jacob said.

"I'll go. I've got some unfinished business there, anyway," Zaeed declared. "Want some company, Thane?"

"I'd be honored," the drell responded with a slight bow.

"While we're branching out for help, perhaps we should call in a favor with one of the human colonies that Shepard helped…Zhu's Hope on Feros, perhaps?" Miranda wondered. "I'll go ask them myself."

"That is an excellent suggestion, Ms. Lawson," EDI said and appeared. The AI's blue interface startled everyone but Mordin, who seemed moderately jovial. "Apologies to interrupt your meeting, but there is a video communications channel coming in from Noveria to Shepard's private terminal. As you requested, all communications from Shepard's terminal were routed to yours, but since this is a live signal, I thought that it was appropriate to intervene. The caller is a Ms. Gianni Parasini, a woman who identified herself from Noveria Internal Affairs. She requested to speak with Shepard. Shall I ask her to leave a message instead?"

"No. Interface us, please, EDI," Miranda ordered. _I'll take all the help I can get._

"Very well, Ms. Lawson," the AI replied and opened the channel.

"Hello, Shepard…oh…" Parasini's chocolate face crumpled up. "Who're you? Do I have the wrong address?"

"No, you don't. This is the Normandy, but unfortunately, you're not able to speak with Shepard," Miranda began.

"Why not?" Parasini's tone changed to suspicion. However, as she looked around the room and saw Liara as well as Tali, she relaxed a little. _Perhaps these aren't pirates. I recognize those two._

"He's been kidnapped, and it's a long story as to how that happened," Miranda shot a dirty glance at Liara. "But as far as we know, Cerberus has him."

"Mmhmm, very interesting. Isn't that a Cerberus uniform?" Parasini's eyebrows rose as she gazed upon Miranda's shoulder.

"That's another long story I don't have time to explain," Miranda replied. "Will you help us? Cerberus has made some kind of new weapon to use against biotics. We can't remove this one," she gestured to Liara, who held up her wrist once more. "And Noveria's got lots of companies that probably owe Shepard for eliminating Matriarch Benezia and the rachni problem."

"You're right, they do," Parasini agreed. "Shepard's certainly stuck his neck out for me a couple of times, too. I was actually going to ask him to do it again, but it looks like it's my turn to return the favor now. I'd be happy to assist in any way possible, now that I have some say with the companies. Bring your device on over to Noveria, Dr. T'Soni, wasn't it?"

"Yes, right away!" Liara exclaimed.

"Would prefer to accompany Dr. T'Soni, Miranda," Mordin butted in. "Perhaps I can also be of some assistance."

"Right, that's good. The Normandy can be there first thing in the morning," Miranda announced and Parasini's image disappeared as the call ended. "In the meantime, let's all try to get some sleep for the night. Since Samara's gone, Liara, you can stay in the starboard observation room on the crew deck."

"Thank you, Miranda," the asari responded quietly.

"Come on, Liara," Tali said and took her by the elbow. "I'll show you where it is."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes**-For those of you who were seriously disturbed by last chapter's events, please kindly remember that I did warn everyone in the first chapter about it. A hero who has flaws is more interesting than one who does not. However, do feel free to write a review. The fact that I've received a few expressing their opinions as such proves that they were uncomfortable. Good and thank you. Not every story that I write is meant to make this couple perfect because in real life, it is far from that. Things do get messy in relationships. I do not condone this immoral behavior at all, and the matter will be thoroughly addressed in a later chapter, do not worry. For those of you who are curious WHY Shepard did this, you may want to read "Cultivation" to gain some insight into his character. Miranda actually does make an appearance in it.

Chapter Three

Normandy SR-2 Debriefing Room, 839h

After wishing a somewhat fastidious farewell to Liara and Mordin, Miranda, Jacob, Tali, Kasumi, Thane, and Zaeed met again around the table for discussion. This time, Miranda did not invite Grunt. His contribution to the last meeting was nothing more than idiotic krogan wisecracks and damage to the conference table.

The quarian raised her hand before Miranda could start to speak. "Miranda, please excuse the interruption, but I received a message from my people. Might I have your permission to book passage on another ship? I absolutely must go back to the Migrant Fleet. They're talking about starting that war against the geth, and I must stop them before they try!"

"Just tell them that the geth are on our side now, that Shepard had Legion distribute that virus," Miranda said as her eyes sped over the data pad she was reading.

"I wish that I could do that from here, Miranda, but my people are asking for my help. I promise to return back to the Normandy as quickly as possible to give you aid. The quarians haven't forgotten about what Shepard did for the galaxy, nor have they forgotten about when we took back the Alarei two months ago. He's my friend and has done more for me than anyone, but right now, if you want our help with the Reapers in the future, you'll understand why I must leave the Normandy," Tali meekly replied.

"Don't be a hard-ass, Miranda," Jacob whispered to her. "I'd hate to have to explain to Shepard why Tali wouldn't come back to the Normandy. Wouldn't you?"

"I'm not completely unreasonable, you know," she whispered back and gave Tali a cursory smile. "Of course, Tali, whatever you need. Shepard would do the same if he were here."

"Thank you, Miranda. Once, I had a bad feeling about you back when we first met on Freedom's Progress, but I'm glad to see that you've changed." Tali bowed her head graciously and left the room.

"Right. Since Omega is currently off-limits courtesy of Cerberus, do either of you have the slightest inkling of where we could locate Aria?" She glanced in the assassin's and bounty hunter's general direction.

Zaeed spoke up. "I doubt she'd go back home to do business. My guess is that she'd lay low until she can get enough people together to kick the bastards off of Omega. Hmm…anybody disagree with me that she'd be on the Citadel?"

"That is assuming that she survived the Cerberus invasion, but I do have a few associates that have some ties to her that could find out," Thane responded honestly. "Aria owes me a favor for some work I did a few years ago for her, so I'm certain that she will make time to speak with us when we find her. Would you like for us to contact you when we've finished our meeting?"

"Send an extranet message to my personal email account," Miranda nodded and brought up her omni-tool. "Here's my address. Cerberus shouldn't be able to trace it; it's one of my throw-away accounts. Jacob and I might not be on the Normandy at the time."

"Why's that?" the ex-Alliance soldier raised an eyebrow.

"I'll get to that in just a minute. Kasumi, we'll drop you off there as well. I'm assuming you'll be fine by yourself?"

The thief placed her hands on the table. "What do you need me to do?"

"See if you can get in touch with David Anderson, formerly Councilor Anderson of the Council. He might have some access to some Alliance reports regarding some Cerberus facilities."

"And if I can't?"

"I'll give you the same address that I gave Thane. Use it by midnight tonight. I'll close up the account by zero hundred thirty hours, encrypt the data, and delete all messages received from you two. Failure is not an option. Remember, this is all for Shepard."

"Sheesh, no pressure at all," Kasumi joked. "And I thought you were just warming up to me." She left as well, although not before turning her cloaking field back on. The others minus Jacob also departed the room.

_If you hadn't pulled that stunt last night, I might have_, Miranda told herself. "Jacob, you and I will head to Feros afterward. I'll need some time to prepare, but hopefully, I should have enough time to brush up my familiarity with the planet. EDI, when you have the time, I'd like for you to search the extranet, download the geographical data for Zhu's Hope, and send the information to my private terminal."

"Of course, Ms. Lawson, I always have time," the AI chirped.

* * *

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way Galaxy, 1300h

"Patient is gaining consciousness, sir," a scientist with chestnut colored hair informed the Illusive Man, who just stepped into the laboratory.

"How is he?" He reached into his pocket to pull out a golden cigarette case.

They both gazed into the next room, which just illuminated itself to reveal a very restrained Shepard on an operating table. He slowly opened up his eyes and squinted at the harsh lighting.

"I apologize for Commander Shepard's condition, sir, but we did have to administer an exorbitant amount of diazepam last night and again this morning."

"How much did you have to administer?" The Illusive Man pulled a cigarette out and lit it.

"It was damn near a lethal amount. There was no other way for us to get him into that room and on the table without it. We were utterly amazed at his strength. Before he lost consciousness last night, he expectorated about ten times. He also vomited about three more times this morning."

"You were expecting less…" his eyes glanced upon her, "Operative Morrison? This is the savior of the galaxy you're looking at."

She gave a short derisive laugh through her mouth. "He's not a god…he's still human."

"See that you treat him respectfully in the future. Looks like he wants some water."

"Yes, sir. I'll have someone send a glass and pitcher in."

"I'll bring some in myself." He looked about the lab, spotted a water cooler, and filled some into a glass. "I'd like to speak with him. But please do have someone bring in some more. He will more than likely need more than one glass of water to compensate for his body's loss of fluids."

"Yes, sir, right away, sir. I'll also bring in an IV saline solution to balance out his electrolyte levels." The scientist left his side to obey him.

The Illusive Man swabbed the inside of his cheek with a Q-Tip and held it up to the DNA scanner. "Identity confirmed. Welcome, sir." The security door opened in front of him, and he strolled confidently right up to Shepard.

"So now we meet face to face," Shepard rasped and licked his lips. "What's with the four point restraints? Handcuffs going out of style?"

"You gave my people quite a fight last night," he responded coolly and held up the water. "Please accept my apologies for the harsh treatment, but there was no other way."

"So whose idea was it to use Liara to get to me…yours?" Although he did not want to, he motioned to the Illusive Man that he wanted the water.

"No, I was a bit…reserved about the idea, to tell you the truth." His sapphire eyes clashed with Shepard's as he tilted the glass forward for his captive to drink. "In fact, I originally said no to it, but my operative, whom you met last night, said that was the only way that I could get to you."

"If you had her location, why not just kidnap her?" Shepard demanded after a long swallow. "I would've come after her."

"Yes, you would have…with your entire squad, perhaps. This plan had the least amount of collateral damage." He paused to inhale from his cigarette. "I had hoped that the treaty between you and me would last a little longer, though, but what was done cannot be changed." The Illusive Man took another drag. "He's one of the finest operatives I have out there, a real asset."

"You mean you don't miss Miranda?"

The Illusive Man turned his back upon Shepard and bit his upper lip. _Never let the enemy see you bleed._ He spun back around upon his heel and held up the glass up again to his lips. "She proved herself useful for the time that I had her, like you. Little did I know that her judgment would become somewhat…clouded."

"She didn't leave you for me, she left Cerberus because she knew it was the right thing to do. She saw how warped and twisted you've become."

"Keep telling yourself that, but how long have you known her…three, four months, tops? I've known her for almost half of her life. You don't just walk away from a place that gave you everything you ever wanted without a damn good reason. I gave her direction, pushed her boundaries, taught her perseverance, and protected her sister. Don't presume to tell me what I know and _don't_ know about Miranda Lawson!" His voice's volume doubled. "Your ridiculous idealistic crusade costed me billions of credits!"

"Seems I touched a nerve there. How much of an impact did her departure have on your financial support? Are you on your knees begging for your investors' forgiveness because two of your most precious assets told you to go to hell?"

The door opened, and Morrison strolled in with an IV cart. She approached Shepard cautiously, swabbed his right forearm, and prepared the needle. Shepard immediately tensed and pulled against his restraints. "Relax, Commander. This is just to balance your electrolyte levels. Don't you remember how much you threw up last night and again this morning?"

He growled, shook his head 'no', relaxed his muscles somewhat, and looked in the opposite direction.

"Squeamish around needles, huh?" she chuckled. "Seems I've found the only weakness you have."

The Illusive Man took a deep breath and continued to pull away at his cigarette as if nothing had just been said. "The project T'soni told you about was not some balderdash I invented. It did actually happen…I christened it 'Darwin' myself."

"That's a sacrilegious name if I ever heard one. Your path to human dominance is more foolhardy than letting a rabid pit bull into a schoolyard during recess."

"Perhaps you're right, Shepard." He finished off the cigarette and put it out in the glass. "Grayson, although he was a prestigious candidate for the project, could not avoid the Reapers' dominance. That's why they conquered him, because of his weak will."

"So that's why you haven't killed me," Shepard realized, his voice nearly at a whisper. The female doctor finished up her work and left them.

"Indeed. You are practically the most perfect specimen that humanity has to offer." The Illusive Man set the glass down on the floor and came closer to Shepard. "It occurred to me that you might be somewhat…resistant to my request. So, that's when my operative suggested luring you in with the perfect trap. And…you do owe me, Shepard-in fact, you owe Cerberus-_humanity_." He said this final word with a much lower pitch. "Strength for Cerberus is strength for humanity, " he continued.

"I'm immune to your malevolent propaganda, so cut the bullshit. You're a coward who's too yellow to take a real stand."

The Illusive Man chortled. "We are speaking face to face, you know."

"True, but we're not having this discussion like two men making a business deal. You don't have the balls, hence the cuffs. You're still scared of me."

"The restraints are to protect my people, not me. You are a…formidable opponent."

"All right, fine. I won't attack your scientists if you get me out of these."

"And I can trust you, how? You'd never willingly let yourself participate in this experiment!" he scoffed and shook his head in disbelief.

"Look at my face and say that again." Shepard's expression was completely solemn. The Illusive Man raised up his eyebrows incredulously.

"You wouldn't give me intact Collector technology, but you'd subject yourself to becoming a human Reaper?"

"I'm doing it for something in return…three conditions, come to think of it."

"I'm listening to you, Shepard."

"First of all, you will release Garrus and Jack…alive. Secondly, you must pull all of your Cerberus agents out of the Alliance permanently, and since you say you're not afraid of me, prove it to me in a fight. We'll do it mano a mano. No weapons, no biotic powers, and face one another as God intended. If I lose, I'll do this. If I win, I walk outta here back on the Normandy without pursuit."

The Illusive Man pondered his statement for a long time. Finally, he spoke. "Your offer bears some weight in it, Shepard. I will consider it and give you my decision in three days."

"Have to make a few calls to the financial investors first?" This time, Shepard's glib remark did not give the Illusive Man a second thought. He walked out of the room just as confidently as he came in.

* * *

Zhu's Hope, Feros, 1446h

"Once again, EDI surpassed my expectations," Miranda mused as she and Jacob departed the hangar. "I'd still never replace our entire crew, though. They're a fascinating bunch."

"Even the aliens?" Jacob pressed.

She bristled at his causative remark. "You think I buy into that racist garbage that so many of our operatives do? Humans have only begun to scratch the surface of it all, and who better to learn with than the other species in the galaxy? I've learned the value of teamwork with Shepard-unlike Cerberus. The only thing they ever united was a large accrual of bank accounts." She held up her left arm and glanced at the map on her omni-tool. "We're not too far away from the heart of the colony."

"I gotta ask this, Miranda. Back when you first spoke with Shepard…at Minuteman Station…you mentioned that you wanted to put a control chip in his brain. Is that really true?"

"I did, yeah." She quickened her pace a little. She wasn't sure if she liked where this conversation was headed.

"Are you glad that the Illusive Man didn't allow it?"

"Of course I wasn't…-" she hesitated, "at first. We should only have about two hundred meters left or so to go."

"When did you change your mind?"

"Change my mind about what?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Miranda. I know what he helped you do for your sister, I get why you're grateful to him for his help. Hell, I would done it probably, too. But back to my original question, though. When did you change your mind that the Illusive Man was right to let Shepard have control of his own will?"

Miranda stopped dead in her tracks, and Jacob nearly ran into her. "You haven't earned the right to know the answer."

"You and your goddamn walls, I swear," he sighed and shook his head.

"Look who's talking. You won't tell Chambers the truth about your father, and the only reason I knew what he really did is because I went with you and Shepard on the mission!"

"I don't need some shrink giving me warm, gushy, lovie-dubie advice. And by the way, I haven't exactly seen the two of you saying more than four sentences to one another. Let's just get in, ask for help, and get the hell outta this place." He pushed onward furiously, and Miranda had to take great strides to keep up with him.

The colony full of bunkers that had once been riddled to the ground knee-deep in rubble was nearly spotless. The buildings all around it were still under construction on the inside, but the outer structures looked about as solid as they once had thousands of years ago when the protheans had built them.

"Greetings. You must be the party from the Normandy," a female colonist beamed at them. "Is Commander Shepard with you?"

"We're looking for Shiala. Where might she be?" Miranda inquired. She didn't want to blatantly lie to the woman.

"She's in the bunker marked 'central operations'...second one to your right."

"Thanks," Jacob said as they passed the colonist. Soon thereafter, they made their way inside of the central operations bunker. It was jam-packed full of colonists waiting for paychecks, licenses, passports, and legal business. It was the perfect bureaucratic nightmare; both Jacob and Miranda despised crawling their way through over bodies, but it was the only way. Eventually, Miranda was able to distract three-quarters of the crowd to move by shouting, "Someone dropped 500 credits in here. We've got to find the owner!" They sneaked their way through to Shiala's office as everyone began to look around the bunker floor.

"That has got to be one of the lowest things you've ever done, Miranda," Jacob remarked and bit his lip.

"Maybe, but we got through faster, didn't we?"

"Yes, how may I be of assistance?" the green asari questioned them as she noticed their presence in her doorway. "Marriage licenses are at the end of the bunker."

"Oh, we're not looking to get married, Miss," Jacob began.

"_Ever_," Miranda spat. "We're here on unfortunate business, Shiala."

"Hmm, don't think I recognize you from the colony…" Shiala tore her eyes fully away from her monitor and gave them her full attention. "You're from Cerberus? What do you want from Zhu's Hope?"

"We're not, actually. We may wear the uniforms, but we are the crew from the Normandy," Jacob explained. "Appearances are deceiving, ma'am. We don't mean you any harm or ill will."

"Surely you jest; the Normandy is under Alliance command. If I were to even start to believe your story…"

"You mean, you didn't hear about what happened two years ago?" Miranda asked.

"We're very isolated out here on this world. We didn't even have a feed to the galactic news until last month. Giving credence to all those stories one finds on the extranet is quite foolhardy," Shiala informed them.

"No doubts there, ma'am. Well, basically, there was a recluse species called the Collectors who destroyed the original Normandy and spaced Shepard. Then, when Miranda and I worked for Cerberus, she put him back together, and Cerberus recreated the Normandy. Now, the Collectors are gone, we quit Cerberus, and now we're on the run from them," Jacob recounted.

"So if this is true, then where's Shepard? I ran into him not too long ago in Nos Astra on Illium."

"He's the reason that we're here," Miranda said and swallowed her pride, "asking for your help. He's gone; Cerberus took him, and we don't know where."

"This sounds specifically like a Cerberus ploy. I had my share of dealing with your ilk years ago when I was a commando." Shiala made direct eye contact with them. "Your people are ruthless and deliberately cruel to anyone who is not a human. Why should I trust you?"

"I don't blame you, ma'am. But please, do this for Shepard. He gave you a second chance, didn't he, after he destroyed the Thorian?" Jacob pleaded.

Shiala arose from her chair. "Yes, he most certainly did do so. To know that, you must have heard it directly from Shepard. Not many people outside this colony know that story." She sank her chin into her hand pensively. "ExoGeni, the company that began this colony, might be able to point you in the right direction. I believe that they used to do business with Cerberus but don't dare to dabble in and out of that anymore. Shepard made them see the error of their ways."

"He does have that effect upon people," Miranda agreed.

"They will be holding a gala this evening to celebrate the foundation for another building. You may find someone there with a powerful influence or perhaps even better, a network of contacts. I regret that I cannot do more for you other than to add your names to the guest list."

"Thank you. What time does it start?"

"8:00, I believe. Just take the elevator to the Prothean Skyway. We have some shuttles running back and forth to the ExoGeni buildings all day and all night. That's the best we can do, until the Skyway is completely repaired. Oh dear, oh dear, more paperwork. Will it ever end?" Shiala returned to her desk and began to type furiously. "Two more things before you go, please. I'll be needing your names now."

"Miriam Longfellow and Jordan Thompson," Miranda rattled off the lies easily. "And the other thing?"

"When you do rescue Shepard, tell him that I'd _very_ much like to see him again. Alone, if possible."

As they strolled out of the bunker, Miranda muttered to herself, "I hate those damned asari. Every single one of them that I've met in the past few months is obsessed with Shepard!"

"And how exactly did you resist his charms?" Jacob teased her. "You were the ultimate Ice Queen, you know. He melted you down to putty in his hands."

"I'll ignore that remark for now because I know that you won't be able to talk your way out of going to this party."

"Aw, Miranda, I hate these stupid socialite things! I'm no good with crowds of people dressed to the nines. I'd rather shoot them all!" Jacob crossed his arms in a pout. "They're like lumps of plastic!"

"It'll build character, Jacob."

He clamped his lips and teeth down tightly. "I hate wearing monkey suits."

"Attending this party is _not_ negotiable. Don't you forget that I'm still your senior ranking officer."

"Yes, ma'am," Jacob growled and saluted her. "Say the word when we go."

* * *

ExoGeni Headquarters, 2019h

"Just where did you have those threads stashed away?" Miranda asked Jacob as they departed the transport. Her eyes did a quick rundown of the lavender shirt, silver tie, and charcoal suit that he wore. She imagined Shepard would be just as uncomfortable in formal wear, but it would definitely compliment his Greek anatomy like it did Taylor's.

"In a pile of mothballs. What's it to you?" Jacob returned impatiently.

"It looks good on you, that's all. Don't get your knickers in a twist, I was just trying to make bloody conversation."

"Let's just do the job, Miranda. You weren't interested in talking earlier today, why start now?" He turned his head to look at her but could not help taking a longer gawk. She wore a strapless black and white gown that impeccably shaped her flawless hourglass figure. On top of that, she'd taken off her trademark choker and wore a simple golden necklace with a few pearls at the bottom. Her ears were studded with simple but elegant pearls.

"We may be here for a while." She motioned with her head that there was a line forming to the entrance of the red carpeted gala, and that it might take them some time to get to the front to get in.

"Perfect," he grumbled. "Maybe we should try the same tactic as we did earlier today."

"And say we found 500 credits? Are you kidding me? These people probably tip their valets that every day!" she scoffed. "Besides, that only worked once, and I never use the same ploy twice in one day." Miranda's eyes searched the entrance, scoping out their fellow guests. "Getting rather jumpy, aren't we?"

"Try seeing it from my side for once, Miranda. Imagine yourself in the most uncomfortable place possible and then talking to the kind of people that you just want to punch ten seconds after you meet them."

"Just remember who we're doing this for."

"Yeah, you keep saying that. I wouldn't mind taking a bullet for Shepard, but this is pushing my limits to the max." Finally, it was their turn to speak to the security guard, who wore an Eclipse uniform.

"Names, please," the guard said and brought up his omni-tool to scan the both of them.

"Miriam Longfellow, Jordan Thompson," both former Cerberus agents lied.

It was few uncomfortable five seconds as the guard's eyes flickered over his omni-tool's visual interface. He waved them along without another moment to lose. "Next, please."

"No one ever said that this was going to be an easy job," Miranda continued. "Feel comfortable enough to separate and branch out? Or would you rather stay together?"

"Remember what I said about talking to these people?"

She smirked and linked her arm through his. "I'll do it all, Jacob, don't worry."

* * *

Thirty minutes later at the party…

"This is getting us bloody nowhere," Miranda sighed in frustration. No one wanted to speak with either of them for more than two minutes with the exception of some liberal drunkards who gave her some very tawdry remarks.

"Told you so," Jacob muttered to himself.

"I heard that." She rolled her eyes and took a sip from her champagne flute. "Maybe I should formulate a new strategy."

He cringed and suddenly grabbed his rib.

"We're not leaving yet, Jacob. Don't even think about it."

When he didn't respond, her expression softened. "You all right?"

About three seconds later, he exhaled very slowly and let go of himself. "Yeah. Ever since we got back from the Omega 4 relay, I've had this…issue."

"What kind of issue? Does Chakwas know about it?"

Jacob nodded. "She does."

Her eyes hardened as she sized him up. "You're not being completely forthright with me."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Then go ask her about it."

"I will."

The ex-Alliance soldier's eyes left hers and made a sweep around the large room.

"Someone's been watching us during this entire time. And he's headed our way, right there, at ten o'clock."

The stranger had dark olive skin, much like Shepard's. His complexion was also familiar to Miranda, with an aquiline nose and a straight jaw. The man's eyes weren't hard like Shepard's sorrel tones but rather hazel…warm and inviting. His South African accent pleasantly greeted them. "You must think I'm a horrible man for doing this." He boldly took Miranda's free hand and kissed the back of it. "But I'm ready for the consequences, good or bad."

He straightened after making a minute bow, released her hand, and distanced himself somewhat from Jacob.

"Feel free," Jacob said but eyed the man as if he were a criminal.

Miranda felt the blood rush to her cheeks and prayed that her face didn't show it. "Do I know you? I'm sorry, I…can't seem to…-"

"Let's go to a place where we can talk freely," the South African offered and led them away down a corridor of offices. "Still can't remember me, Miranda Lawson? Was I that easy to forget?" He was about to advance upon her hand again when Jacob placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Who are you, man? No games."

"You must be someone quite important to have a bodyguard like this. Bet he wasn't cheap." The man shook his head. "Surely you haven't completely blocked out a Dean Watson from your university days, have you?"

Lawson's expression froze into complete horrific embarrassment. "Oh. Not at all," she beamed. _I knew he looked familiar. Haven't thought about those days for a long while. _"Please forgive me, Dean."

"Jacob Taylor." Jacob was still scrutinizing him.

"I tried to send you messages, call you, but you were gone. You just left without saying goodbye in the middle of the semester," Watson stated.

"I couldn't say why at the time, but I'm sure you'll understand now. I had to leave my father, and going to go work for Cerberus was the only way," Miranda explained. "I had to sever all ties with everyone I knew to keep them safe."'

"And Niket, too?"'

"I…uh…what do you mean?"

"He was found dead on Illium about three months ago. Or didn't you hear the news?" Watson inquired.

"How?" She found it difficult to disguise her voice.

"Two shotgun slugs in the back, fired at point-blank range."

Miranda lowered her eyelids and pursed her lips together. _I'm glad Shepard stopped me from killing Niket. Riddling Captain Enyala's body with that submachine gun didn't help as much as I thought it would._

"Miri, I'm sorry you had to hear it this way," Watson said and touched her bare shoulder. "Niket was a good mate of mine, too. Think he introduced us, didn't he?"

Tears beyond her control started to gush out of her eyes, which caused Watson to become more bold and take her into his arms with a hug. "I'm here for you, Miri, just like always."

Jacob took a step back from them and looked the other way. He hoped that this conversation would come to an end soon.

"Thank you, Dean," she sobbed and wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "Damn this makeup…supposed to be smear free."

"You still look gorgeous to me, even without it. Come on, allow me." Watson withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and blotted her eyes gingerly. "Now, I gather that you didn't come to Feros for the view…or the ExoGeni gala."

"What makes you say that?" Jacob cut in suddenly.

"Well, shortly after Miri left university, I got recruited as well. Had to break my own ties, too. The EIA was down in numbers, I guess," Watson recounted.

"Earth Intelligence Agency?" Miranda asked. "You became a spy?"

"More or less," he shrugged. "Started off as an analyst and pencil pusher, then I moved up. Last year, I quit, did some heavy training, and…became a Spectre."

"You? You're a Spectre?"

"Is it so difficult to believe, Miranda? After the Alliance declared Shepard dead, they needed someone new to represent humanity. So, they started to do some fishing around, and…I figured, what the hell? I got passed over for it the first time, but the other candidate backed out at the last minute. I suppose he didn't realize that he'd have to leave his wife and children behind him for all of his missions." Miranda gave him his handkerchief, and he pocketed it. "Then I heard from former Councilor Anderson that Shepard _wasn't_ dead, and that he had alleged ties with Cerberus. I could only imagine the Council's shock after hearing that one."

"We cut loose from them. And, uh…well, somehow they found us and got Shepard," Jacob reported. "That's why we're here. We're looking for help."

"Oh, well, how fortunate," Watson smiled genuinely. "It's like you were just dropped right into my lap. Haven't had a mission in a month…I've been looking for some action. Got room for another Spectre onboard your ship?"

"Definitely. Let's go now," Miranda nodded.

"When we find him, I look forward to shaking his hand. He's the stuff legends are made of."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Normandy SR-2, Debriefing Room, 2349h

"Everyone, this is Dean Watson. He's a member of the Spectres, so I'll expect everyone to treat him with the same courtesy as you would Shepard. Dean also has extensive training with the EIA, so he is no stranger to peril or dangerous missions," Miranda began the briefing. All squad members' eyes were focused upon her and the new crew member. "He's also a personal friend of mine from a long time ago, so we can trust him."

The silence that greeted the both of them was nearly overwhelming. She cleared her throat apprehensively. "Zaeed, Thane, your message was unclear about your results. Please clarify."

Zaeed looked at Thane, who gestured his hand forward as if to say 'go ahead'. The middle-aged bounty hunter put his hands behind his back and started to pace about. "Well, you did say that that account wasn't totally secure, so that's why there was a mystery. We had our meeting with Aria, which, surprisingly went better than I'd expected. She expresses her quote sympathy unquote for us, and says that her intelligence can't give us anything much about Cerberus that we don't already know. She wouldn't say much about the disagreement she had with the Illusive Man, neither, but she was apparently pissed off enough that she gave us two of her asari mercs to take with us." He paused and ventured back to his previous spot at the table. "So they're down in the sub-decks where Jack was staying."

Miranda was speechless for about three seconds. "What made you think that this is an autonomy?" she shot back. "I'm Shepard's second-in-command, Massani. And now that he's gone, that makes me the ranking officer on this ship. What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"I want him back like you, Lawson, and I'm willing to do whatever the fuck it takes. And if it means taking two more people aboard that can handle themselves, I'm not about to turn it away. So don't you go pulling your goddamned stripes on me, you egomaniacal bitch. I answer to Shepard and nobody else," Massani thundered and left the room. Thane silently followed him, as did Kasumi.

"Wait," Miranda snapped, "where do you think you're going, Kasumi? You haven't been debriefed yet!"

"It's all there in my email message. You said that you were going to delete it anyway," the thief responded coolly and made herself invisible.

"Guess we're done here," Jacob observed that they were the only three ones left. "Am I dismissed, Miranda? I'd like to catch some shuteye."

She sighed angrily. "Yeah, go ahead."

"You uh…gonna be all right?" Watson tried to make eye contact with her.

"I'm fine." Miranda licked her lips and glanced at her outfit. "No wonder they weren't respecting me."

"A woman like you can dress however she wants to get my attention, Miri," he chuckled. "Now, onto the important stuff, like, where can I put my things?"

"Oh, right. Silly of me to forget that. Um, we'll put you on the starboard observation room on the crew deck for now. Is that all right? It's got a lovely view."

"Sounds perfect if you're not too far away." He grinned and picked up his canvas bag.

"No, I'm just down the hall from it. Come on." They left and made their way to the elevator.

* * *

The next morning, Miranda's office, 848h…

That day, Miranda did not share breakfast with the rest of her crew mates; she had Mess Sgt. Gardner bring it to her as well as a very large carafe of coffee. After she readied herself for the day, she spent the last half an hour doing as much research as she could on Dean Watson's career. Unsurprisingly, the majority of his records with the EIA were classified, but Miranda was able to access some of them through a Cerberus mole.

There was only one unusual case that caught her attention, and it was the last one. He had been posted to infiltrate a notorious terrorist group in Damascus, Syria, and the handler from the EIA reported no known contact for four months from Watson. The Australian and North American embassies were bombed two weeks after the date of the communiqué. _Hmm…that's odd. Just where did he go?_

A message popped up on her monitor, notifying her that Chambers was coming to see her as requested.

Miranda took it upon herself to pour out the coffee into the cups, one for her, and the other for Chambers. Ten seconds later, the Yeoman strolled in with a pop-tart in hand. "Morning, Miranda. How may I help you?"

"Please, Chambers, sit down. Do you take cream and sugar in your coffee?"

"Yes, please, two tiny, little lumps. Thanks very much." Miranda nodded, distributed the ingredients, and passed the cup and saucer to her, who sat across from her desk.

"This isn't easy for me," Miranda began. "I thought that it'd come just as natural as most things do for me."

"Talking with me or…"

"Yes, well, no…well…I meant, assuming the role of Commander."

"Ah, I see. You have the floor, Miranda. I'm here for you," Chambers smiled and shoved the rest of her pop-tart into her mouth.

"I appreciate that. Being the Commander is harder than I thought. No one but Jacob seems to respect me, and even that respect seems to be slipping away as we speak."

Chambers nodded in response and drank some of her coffee. "Please continue, Miranda."

"Shepard's gone. He was the force pulling everyone together, and I seem to be pushing everyone away. I thought I could handle this, and now, this morning… I can't do this! What's wrong with my leadership?"

"Have you gotten much sleep?"

"I don't need it as badly as normal humans do." She rolled her eyes and dumped a large portion of her own coffee down her throat. "Another gift from Father," she mumbled to herself. The yeoman heard her last remark and nodded.

"Then I need to know something in order to know what to advise you next." Miranda put down her cup and leveled her gaze with Chambers. "How far would you go to get Shepard back? Now think carefully before answering my question, because there's more to it. We finished our fight against the Collectors, which are pretty impossible odds, I'll admit, and by the way, I'm still very grateful for the rescue. Now, I think you might know what I'm going to ask next."

"Spit it out already!"

"I wasn't onboard, of course, and neither were three-fourths of the crew members at the time, but, there's been a lot of talk between us all. Ship gossip, so to speak. Now, you and Shepard…ah…consummated your relationship, right? I don't always believe every rumor I hear."

"I appreciate your phrasing, Kelly, and yes, it did happen." The corners of her mouth widened ever so slightly, perhaps out of pride or sentiment.

"I know you're the sort of person who wouldn't casually approach sex, especially with a superior or a colleague, whereas someone like Jack would. So I suppose you're in favor of continuing your relationship?"

"Yes, however, I'm not sure what he wants from it."

"Well, regardless of that, I'm asking how _you_ feel at this moment because it is very paramount to our mission. Do you love him?"

"I don't see how this has anything to do with-"

"All right, I'll be more frank, then. Your feelings for Shepard will greatly impact your decisions as commander of the Normandy. If you're not thinking clearly with your head, then maybe it would be best to step down and let someone else take over. Poor judgment shouldn't endanger this mission, Miranda."

"No one else has one-fourth of the leadership skills that I do!" Miranda got up from her chair and turned her back to the yeoman. "Of course I've been using my head!" A knock came from outside the door to divert their attention. "What?!" she yelled.

The door opened, and in walked Dean Watson. "Good morning, ladies. Please pardon the intrusion, but it's rather significant. Zaeed Massani, that merc and Kasumi, what is she, a thief? They've both requesting to leave the Normandy. Uh, thought you'd probably like to know as you are the baas around here."

"Shit," Miranda cursed to herself. _What have I done?_

* * *

Medical Bay, Binary Helix Corporation Headquarters, Noveria, 1230h

Mordin rushed into the room as soon as he heard the news that Liara woke up from her coma. "Dear me, dear me! Accept my sincere apologies, Dr. T'Soni!" he bowed his head remorsefully. "I never meant for this to happen, I-"

"Whoa," Liara opened up her eyes and raised herself up slightly. "Neither did I." She lifted her right wrist, saw that the Ochrana bracelet was no longer there, and sighed with relief. "Thank the goddess for technological advances in medical science."

"Told them that we should've waited five more milliseconds, used too many gamma rays, those nincompoops wouldn't listen to me," the Salarian began to prattle. "I ought to incinerate them for such stupidity, I-"

"Dr. Solus, it's all right. I will heal, probably very quickly thanks to this well equipped lab. If we'd been aboard the Normandy, Dr. Chakwas, although she is a wonderful doctor, might not have been able to save me."

"Good to know." His expression lightened. "So, step one is finished. Step two, much more difficult now that the Ochrana device is off. Will need to try to reverse engineer it." Mordin spun around immediately.

"Are you going to take a break, Doctor?"

"Break? No! Just did so to check on you, had to see how cognizant you were, vital signs, et cetera. Much to do, talk later?" He wasted no more time on Liara and left the medical bay as quickly as he had come.

Liara felt her strength returning her body and sat up. When that was not a problem, she removed the sheets from herself and dressed. Minutes later, she had the IVs out of herself and made sure that she was fit to leave with the doctors' permission. After requiring her to perform a few simple motor skills and memory tests, they did so.

Liara ate a quick lunch and returned to the makeshift office that Binary Helix administrators very willingly provided. It was adequate enough with a terminal that had access to the extranet as well as the capability for her to interface with her omni-tool. Without another second to lose, she activated both instruments and downloaded a majority of the messages she missed from her Shadow Broker network. None of them were as paramount as Shepard's disappearance, she decided, and pulled up her list of agents.

Ten minutes later, she found a dossier that could prove very useful and acted upon it by calling the operative by the name of Serena Longoria. Longoria was a Cerberus operative, had been for six years, and then was recruited by the Shadow Broker. She served the Broker for three years, proving at least some loyalty, and gave some of the intel included where Cerberus had suspected Shepard's body to be after the first Normandy had been decimated. Liara activated the voice filter after getting through to Longoria's Cerberus issued omni-tool.

"Operative Longoria, you are requested to patch in to channel beta sixty-two forty-one. This is a secure channel," Liara ordered and pulled up a visual image of Serena Longoria. She was an athletic young human woman who had flaxen hair, high cheekbones, and soft chestnut eyes.

The Broker agent silently obeyed. "Report is ready. Update can be sent electronically or communicated through audio communication now."

"Send the update electronically. Wait, no…" Liara gathered her thoughts. "Is there anything in there regarding an Ochrana bracelet?"

"No, Shadow Broker. I was forwarding some information about a planet in the Arghos system-"

"Do you have any data regarding a protection against biotics weapon? This is the Ochrana bracelet I mentioned a moment ago."

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I did not regard its importance at the time I first came across it, I must apologize."

"How long have you known?" Liara decided that an assertive tone was the best way to remain objective.

"Two, three days, perhaps, at the most."

"Where are Cerberus' main headquarters?" This question seemed to take Longoria aback. Her eyebrows raised with incredulity and shock.

"I don't know that answer, Shadow Broker, I-"

"Your top priority now is to find the answer to that question. Devote as much time and resources as you are able."

"But, that's like asking me to find a needle in an asteroid field! Cerberus is so reclusive, even for an operative like me, that they are like nomads. They pick up everything and move if they have even one slightest hint that the Alliance will be raiding a base, thanks to that Spectre Commander Shepard's persistence. No one trusts anyone in this operation! All we ever see are the numbers that go into our bank accounts. That's the only guarantee that I have that I still have a job here!"

"You were given an order, Operative Longoria. Will there be an issue with your loyalty?"

"Definitely not, Shadow Broker." Serena swallowed nervously. She knew what would happen should anyone try to betray the Shadow Broker. Her life would likely be forfeit within as little as three days. "You have my complete and total loyalty. Cerberus will not cloud my judgment."

"Good, because there's more to this." Liara hesitated to think for a moment. "Cerberus has kidnapped Commander Shepard. You will submit your complete attention to this matter."

"What must be done?"

"That is the reason why I asked where the headquarters were. Funding your mission will not be a problem, should the need arise for bribery, or a significant raise for you should you need one."

"That would be a positive incentive," Serena agreed with a nod.

"I also want to know what their plans are for him. Find out either objective however you see necessary. Send reports over your secure connection as usual. Remember, this supersedes ALL other goals. You will see an amount of credits transferred electronically to your account in three hours as a sign of good faith."

"I will do what I can, Broker, but cannot guarantee that I will produce many viable results."

"This is not an easy task," Liara remarked. "I would not ask anyone else to do it because you are the best for it. Shadow Broker out." After breaking the extranet connection, Liara took some deep breaths to calm herself. _Shepard has put himself on the line for me more times than I can count. I can't lose him…not like this! He means too much to me!_

She closed her eyes to try and fight back the sobs, but the tears would not subside. She rested her head over the desk and wept bittersweetly to herself.

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Medical Bay, 1750h

Both Engineers Gabriella Daniels and Ken Donnelly brushed by Miranda on their way out. Each crew member carried an orange-colored pill bottle in hand, and neither greeted her. The physician rotated herself in the chair so that she directly faced Miranda and was civil enough to do so. "Operative Lawson, how may I help you?"

"I'd like to speak with you regarding Jacob Taylor's medical condition."

Dr. Chakwas gestured for her to sit in the empty seat adjacent to hers. "There are some things that I cannot divulge, and I'm certain that you're aware of the reason. Barring that disclaimer, what would you like to know, Operative Lawson?"

Miranda folded her arms across her chest. Her slate-blue eyes made a deadly clash with Chakwas'. "Doctor-patient confidentiality shouldn't matter to the Normandy's commanding officer."

The physician showed no sign of intimidation. "If we were talking about Shepard's health, I would completely agree and be as candid as possible with you, Operative Lawson." She started to turn back around until she heard Miranda's booted heels stroll towards the seat.

Miranda leaned her weight against the chair with her hands but stood. "I've noticed several of the crewmen visiting you in the last few hours. Is there an illness aboard?"

"There appear to be several cases of cranial neuralgias, and be assured, Operative Taylor has not contracted one."

Lawson's eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head to one side with piqued interest. "Headaches?"

"Yes. I postulate that this could have come from the Collector Base, since none of Shepard's team have come to me asking for some-"

Kasumi interrupted the conversation with her entrance, but when she saw Miranda, she spun around. "I'll be back later, Dr. Chakwas."

"Nonsense, do come in, Ms. Goto."

"Well…it's really not _that _bad…"

"Got a headache, Goto?" Miranda inquired suspiciously.

The thief took a step away from her. "Yeah, but maybe I just need to eat something…hmm…some Ramen would be nice…"

"That would be advisable. And here…" Chakwas arose to give her a container. "Take these with your meal and if I were you, I'd turn in early this evening."

"Thanks."

After Kasumi left, Miranda actually sat down. "Guess that eliminates your theory since Goto is on Shepard's team."

"Hmm…it would appear to be debunked, indeed."

"From one scientist to another, Doctor…what's wrong with Taylor?"

Chakwas sighed. "He came to me shortly after we came back through the Omega 4 relay complaining of some pain in his side. Naturally, I administered some medi-gel to him and conducted an examination."

"What did you find?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." She shook her head 'no.' "Then he notified me about some other ailments he was suffering from."

"What were his symptoms?"

She chose to ignore Miranda's query. "I believe Operative Taylor is suffering from renal papillary necrosis…as a side effect of drepanocytosis."

The Aussie leaned on her right hand and balanced it on top of the other as she gave the matter some thought. _Sickle cell anemia…that's a very rare chronic condition…how would this have slipped through Cerberus' medical examinations? They're even more thorough than the Alliance's…or so I remember._

"I asked him to see a friend of mine on the Citadel," the Brit continued her narrative. "He hasn't been back to me for a few days, so I can assume that she gave him some treatment."

"I witnessed him experiencing some mild pain last night. It's either not working, or he never went to see your colleague," Miranda informed her. "I'll go have a word with him later on."

"With all due respect, Operative Lawson, _I _am the Normandy's chief medical officer, and I came here to serve with Shepard, not you. I'd prefer to keep the matter sub rosa."

"In your opinion, do you think that he should be removed from active duty?"

"We'll see how he feels at dinner."

"Let's schedule a physical examination immediately afterward." Miranda crossed her arms over her chest.

"That will not be necessary." Chakwas paused to lock her gaze with Miranda. "And should you approach Operative Taylor to discuss this, then expect to find yourself without me…effective immediately. " After delivering her ultimatum, Chakwas swiveled her chair back to her desk and began to massage her temples. She exhaled through her mouth loudly. "Now if there's nothing else, I should like to remain off-duty for the rest of the evening."

"Of course." Miranda stood and left the med bay without another word.

* * *

Half an hour later...

Instead of the usual happy, carefree environment that it had previously been, the crew mess was as quiet as a graveyard. The cheer was completely gone from everyone's faces, even though the meal Mess Sgt. Gardner made was outstanding as usual. No one laughed or smiled throughout the entire meal. The conversations were superficial and trivial, usually ending up with one-worded answers. As she came out of her office, Miranda was not greeted with the same kindness that had been bestowed upon her yesterday. "Want another supper sent to your quarters, _Commander_ Lawson?" Gardner growled.

She shook her head no and adjusted her fingertip gloves timidly. "I should eat with everyone tonight."

"Oh, so she _is_ good enough to eat with us, " Massani retorted. "Don't worry, Lawson, I'll be out of your pretty hair soon enough. Got my ticket booked to get the hell outta here tonight."

"That's not soon enough for me," Kasumi stated. "Best I could do was to leave tomorrow morning, lucky you."

"Now wait, please…" Miranda started to stammer and cautiously walked closer to the tables. "I…I…had my reasons for saying what I did last night…-"

"That your idea of an apology? Funny…I always thought that those started with "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong"," Zaeed fumed. His sarcasm added fuel to Miranda's fire.

"I wasn't wrong, you arrogant prick! _You _had no goddamn right to-" she thrust her finger in his face, but Watson, who had been sitting across from Massani, shoved it away.

"Miranda, you went out of line last night, and you're out of line now!" Watson stood up quickly, and his chair made a screeching sound as it scooted back. "Everyone is! No one has a right to do anything to compromise this mission. Don't any of your lose sight of your vision!" Dean left the table and stood at the head of it next to Miranda. "The time for petty differences like this need to be put aside. Miranda, you are the ranking officer just under Shepard, but does it give you the right to become a goddamned dictating fool?"

"Well said," Kasumi noted, to whom Miranda shot an icy stare.

"And none of you are without blame, either! Spending some time in the EIA gave me the skills I needed to be able to read all sorts of people. Thane, what caused you to accept Massani's solution?"

"The asari huntresses are great instruments to wield. I've fought against many, and they've tested my skills as an assassin many times. Those were some of the most fierce and toughest battles I've ever had. To underestimate one is to be, what's that human expression…stupid? Yes, that's it. Stupidity is the deliberate cultivation of ignorance," the Drell finished.

"In other words, you saw them as an asset, not a liability because of their combat skills," Watson paraphrased.

"That is correct," Thane nodded.

"And Zaeed, you came to the same conclusion, yes?"

The British merc agreed. "You're dead on, Watson. I get why you rose up in ranks quickly. You look like you've got a head on your shoulders, _unlike_ some other people."

"We see eye to eye on this, then." Watson folded his arms behind his back. "But, you did break a protocol when you didn't ask Miranda whether they could come aboard or not. This is no longer an Alliance or Cerberus ship, but we should adhere to some sort of chain of command. Right now, that leader is Miranda Lawson."

"All right, say that I did ask her first," Massani growled. "Still the same answer, right? A no to extra help?" he directed this to Miranda.

Before Miranda could reply, Watson interrupted them. "What did Shepard do for you, Zaeed?"

"What?" the merc shot back.

"Shepard did something to gain your loyalty. In fact, I'm positive that he did something for all of you." Watson looked at everyone sitting at the tables. "We've lost sight of the mission already, and this isn't even the hardest part that I expect us to encounter! I did expect some mixed feelings, but no one seems to trust one another here. You act like there's no common ground, and you're all wrong! Shepard is the heart and soul of this ship. He named it, he decided which destinations to chart, how fast the Normandy would get there, and which missions would take priority. The fact that all of you are still here _after_ you've defeated the Collectors says something. It means that you all are completely dedicated to him. If that were not so, you'd have left after you finished your jobs."

"But he's gone now, and there's nothing left I can do…" Kasumi began. "I couldn't find David Anderson. I failed."

"Then you'll be useful in another way to us tonight or tomorrow. All of you. I won't accept my fellow crew members' retreat, and to do so is cowardly, especially after all Shepard did for all of you."

"You're right, Watson," Massani agreed. "I'll cancel my passage on one condition only." He made a dramatic pause and pointed directly at Miranda. "That Lawson steps down from the command."

"Those will be my terms as well," Kasumi nodded.

"What?!" Miranda crossed her arms defiantly.

"Do you feel that those terms are acceptable, Miranda?" Watson turned to her with a determined and hardened stare. This expression reminded her of how she fell for Dean Watson in the first place. He wouldn't back down from the first time she said no to a date, he pursued his goals just as persistently as she, and his eyes always seemed to pierce her in the right place. It made him _very_ irresistible back then, and she felt her resolve lessen. She relented with a nod.

"I do have one question, though," she said in a much more serene tone. "Who's going to lead us now? We must have a commander of the Normandy."

The silence that hung in the room was overwhelming. Jacob, who'd been quietly listening to everyone else bicker and complain, stood from his chair. "I volunteer."

Watson lifted his right hand slightly. "As do I."

"Why don't we put it to a vote?" Kasumi suggested. "That way everyone on the crew, not just us, gets to have a say."

"Great idea, Kasumi," Miranda chimed in. "EDI, tell the entire crew to assemble in the mess. This meeting is mandatory, and all must attend with the exception of Flight Lieutenant Moreau. I ask that you please leave a channel of communication open for Moreau to have a say while he's at the helms."

"Had to get one final order in, didn't ya?" Zaeed shook his head.

* * *

Two hours later, Starboard Observation Room…

"Well, congratulations are in order, Commander Watson," Miranda smirked as they both strolled into his quarters. "Why didn't you go into politics again?"

"Too messy. Besides, I still prefer to pull the trigger myself when taking out a bad guy rather than yanking some other guy's string," Watson replied casually. "This is the best way I think I can serve the galaxy at the moment, don't you?"

She said nothing in reply other than to nod and stare out the window into the deep void.

"You were never one for much talking, I'll admit that," Watson continued and sat down on one of the couches. "So, I heard Shepard had a full crew when you took on the Collectors. Who had this place before me?"

"An asari justicar named Samara."

"How prestigious. How'd Shepard manage to procure her services?"

"He helped Samara hunt down and kill an Ardat-Yakshi."

"A what?"

"Some kind of asari mythological creature translated into 'demon of the night wind'. She wasn't supernatural, from what I'd heard. She just had some kind of genetic disease that made her suck the life out of her lovers...literally."

"Hmm…where is this Samara now?"

"Not sure. She completed the mission against the Collectors, got a message from deep asari space, and left. Didn't even say goodbye."

"So what was her asset?" Miranda turned to look at Watson. "I'll re-phrase, sorry. What did she add to the team?"

"She was an incredible adept with the most powerful biotic skills I've ever seen. Even my own powers don't compare to hers," Miranda shrugged.

"I never thought that I'd hear you say that someone was better than you, Miri."

"Being part of the Collector mission taught me some new things."

"What about some of the old things?" He patted the seat next to him. "Remember those younger days?"

"I left that life behind me when I joined Cerberus, Dean." Miranda's eyes went back to space.

"You mentioned that you quit; what made you do it? And before you get all full of yourself again, remember that you owe me something for keeping your team here."

"You're right, I should be grateful." She caved and joined him on the couch. "You helped unite us again…like Shepard would want us going up against anyone else."

"I'd like to keep it that way, but it'll be easier for me moving forward if we're honest with one another." He slid over a little closer to her so that they were two feet apart instead of four.

"I left Cerberus because I no longer agreed with the Illusive Man. I saw how far he went to get some Collector technology, and we lost a whole science team to that mission. Sixty people. And the Illusive Man just…moved on ahead without a second thought. He didn't send letters to their families giving any closure about how their members died, he didn't go to any of the wakes. And he most certainly didn't hesitate to pressure Shepard…"

"Go on, Miranda."

"When we reached the Collector home world through the Omega 4 relay, we fought through Hell to get into that base. We took two separate teams in to distract the Collectors, then we freed our enslaved crew members from the central chamber. Guess that's why so many of our crew members voted for you. They see a fire in you like Shepard's got. He's got a drive that would just physically tear apart any normal human being, a perseverance…and when the Collectors attacked our ship, they took everyone but our helmsman. Our squads were in the shuttle at the time on another sideline mission, so none of us could help them then. But Shepard went in right away without a second to lose after the Collectors. He really cares about us all."

"Those are some giant shoes to fill, Miri." He slid even closer. "I think I'd like to stay on with Shepard's permission, after we save him, of course. I like what I see from your teammates."

"There's more to the story, sorry. The Collectors had been building a human Reaper with all of the lives that they'd taken. They'd turned each living being into liquid…or a husk. Shepard was about to blow it to Hell when the Illusive Man asked him not to. He instead proposed sending a timed radiation pulse that would destroy the base but leave the technology intact."

"What a domkop...bastard. That place sounded like a hellhole...an abomination."

"That's exactly what I thought, and I told him so. I was there on that platform with him. But, Shepard wouldn't hear another thing about it. That's when I had my final disagreement with the Illusive Man, and that's why I don't work for Cerberus any more."

"Isit…so…you never had any disagreements about his methods previously?"

"I was…under the disillusion that the Illusive Man always put forward the best interests of humanity first. I'm not usually wrong, but, when I know that I am, I'll admit to it." She crossed one leg over the other.

"God, you don't know how much I've missed you throughout the years. Seeing you at that party was like a breath of fresh air…an inspiration."

"You seem to have done well for yourself. Any past Spectre missions you can talk about?"

"Although it's rare, I got the opportunity to work with another Spectre…an asari named Tela Vasir. She was a vanguard with a biotic charge that could tear a krogan's heart in two! And that brain of hers…that body…lekker stukkie." He growled like a predator. "She was next to heaven. We did some work together in Illium to take down Nassana Dantius. She had done some rather scandalous things with her diplomatic power in the Asari assembly, so the Council wanted some action taken forward on it. It was more detective work than anything else, I admit...a little on the dull side. We sent our findings to the Council then found out two weeks later that somebody rubbed her out before we could arrest her."

"Hmm…she did wrong a lot of people, I heard," Miranda kept her mouth movements restrained. "What happened?"

"We're not sure who, but, someone put out a contract on her. Whoever this guy was, he did Illium a big favor. Her stock soared through the roof for one week and then fell flat like a rock," he made some gestures as he recalled the story. "You know how slowly the Council moves. Vasir and I wanted to move in on her; we heard that she was being followed and watched by this assassin."

"Did you ever see him?"

"Thought I caught a silhouette of him one time…might have been a drell." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye for her reaction. She had none, so he continued. "Then again, we never received the order in time to arrest her, so…I guess you could call it justice served."

"The Council didn't have you investigate her death?"

"Waste of time and resources. Vasir got called away, and I moved on. But I'll never forget our last night." Watson blew some air out of his mouth in a low whistle. "Finest piece of Asari art I ever got my hands on."

Miranda rolled her eyes and changed legs.

"Used her biotic charge on me once or twice. Still have a bruise...wanna look?" He grinned devilishly and was about to raise his shirt, but she blew him off with a slight air of disgust and looked in the opposite direction. "They're nothing compared to the ones I suffered with you, though. You almost broke my back one night when you threw us on that tiled floor!"

"Oh yeah. Forgot about that one." She directed her attention back to him. "You got better, though."

"I wasn't complaining then, and I won't complain now." Watson's hand moved onto her thigh, which made her get up and leave the couch. "Sorry if I was too casual about Vasir. You know how lonely space travel can be. A Spectre can't have a family or a wife and expect to keep 'em."

Doubts began to plague Miranda's head about Shepard. He was still a Spectre.

"I've gotta go, Dean. We'll talk later," she announced and departed without another word.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes**-From this point on, if you're going to leave a review, please don't leave it as a guest. If you want to voice your opinion, I respect that, but I will delete all anonymous reviews. Thank you.

Chapter Five

Undisclosed location, Milky Way Galaxy, 2132h

"Turn the lights on in there, please. I'd like to visit the prisoner," the Illusive Man told the outside guards, who complied.

Red overhead lamps flickered on momentarily later, and it caused Jack to stir from her cot. She got up and tried to look outside at her captor, but her eyes had not yet adjusted to the light. As the door opened, two soldiers journeyed inside with the Illusive Man, who lit a cigarette and brought in a bottle of scotch. "Care for a drink, Jack?" he asked after taking a swig.

She turned her back on him silently and sat down on the cot.

"Need a glass, then? Thought that wouldn't matter to you," he tried again.

Jack leaned her back against the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. Her body language told him that she was closed for negotiations. He considered another tactic a while ago and decided to bring it up now. "I'm afraid that I owe you a very sincerely overdue apology for what happened to you out there in our Teltin facility." She stared straight ahead at the wall. "You must understand that sometimes, operations with good intentions can go horribly wrong if left unchecked, and I should've…been more alert than I was to the reports."

This time, she did look at him, but it told him that he was going to say something better than that to talk.

"The mission report said that you armed the whole complex with an H-22x. Good choice...wish I could've given you the detonator myself to blow that mistake into the ground."

"Be glad your little dog collar's working, asshole. Or I would've made you eat that fucking bottle two minutes ago," Jack snapped.

He smiled wryly. "So how about that drink?"

"Leave me alone, dick head."

"I'm not going anywhere for a while until I get a couple of answers from you." He took a long drag from his cigarette.

"Heard that those things used to be bad for you," she referred to the cigarette hanging in between his fingers.

"Quite right. Used to cause something called emphysema and lung cancer, if you smoked enough of them during a lifetime, of course. Those cures were discovered long before either of us were born, though."

"What do you want, fuckhole?"

"I have two questions. One of them is simple, and the other isn't. Why did you stay on the Normandy after the Collectors were defeated? And the next one…how far would you go for Shepard?"

"Shove your cigarettes and your goddamn scotch where the sun don't fuckin' shine," Jack barked.

"Would you stay on with Shepard if he were somehow…a little different?"

"I don't get it. What do you mean by that?" A knock came to the door and drew the Illusive Man's attention away from the serial killer. "Excuse me. Pleasant dreams, Subject Zero." He left the bottle of scotch on the floor in front of her, and she threw it violently with her own arm against the closing door.

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Captain's Quarters, 2337h

Miranda organized her thoughts and settled on the few questions she had about Watson. The first priority was definitely to find out about that mission where he disappeared in Syria, the second was why his Spectre induction was not public knowledge, and just as the elevator doors opened, the two asari mercenaries that Zaeed and Thane had brought aboard nearly ran into Miranda.

She eyed them suspiciously as she tried to put clues together why they would've been in Shepard's cabin. After they both gave her crude long winks with promiscuous grins, she marched right into the quarters. Dean Watson was in the bed with a drink in his hand, giving her a cat that ate the canary smile. She frowned and snatched the top sheet off of the bed revealing him au natural. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing here?!" she coldly spat.

"Unless I misheard you, weren't you calling me Commander a few hours ago? Well, these do happen to be the captain's quarters," he responded casually.

"If I'd known what kind of sleazy things you'd be doing in here, I _never_ would have cast my vote towards _you_ to be the Normandy's commander. I can't believe I saw anything in you back in college."

Watson laughed derisively, poured another drink in another glass, and offered it to her. He arose from the bed, reclaimed the sheet from her trembling hands, and wrapped it around his waist. "Join me."

"Those are just about the most filthy sheets I've ever seen, and you're asking me to defile them with _you_? If you know what's good for you, you'll get dressed, get downstairs, and stay in that observation room down on the goddamned crew deck!" She still held the drink in shock, even though the ice was melting away fast.

"There's no bed. What do you suggest I do, drag this one down there?" After a beat, he continued. "Why'd you come up here, anyway?"

"I came to feed the fish." Miranda shrugged.

"Mmmm…right. All good deck officers look after their captain's pets while he's been kidnapped." That still wouldn't break down her barriers, so he put down his beverage and opened one of Shepard's desk drawers.

"You've no right to be going through his-"

"I already did. I'm just showing you that I know why you really came up here." Watson took out a perfume bottle. "The scent's a little too feminine for me, but, maybe Shepard's got interesting tastes…oh, you don't think so?" He watched her face change emotions: from anger to depression.

"Why here?" her voice trembled. "I can understand wanting to feel good and give into passion, but…" she trailed off.

"Shh…" He placed a finger to her lips and took the drink from her. "It doesn't have to be in the bed."

"This isn't right, I can't…no…" She shook her head as he inched closer to her lips.

"Just imagine I'm him for the night," he whispered. "Let me be Shepard. Let me give you what he'd want to."

Miranda felt herself getting slightly warm and feverish under his words. His charms were starting to become hard to resist. She nearly felt as if he had some kind of control over her.

"I'm here to give what you want…a man in your life during these dark and uncertain times. A rock to cling to, someone to steady your step. Let me honor your body the way he would."

Just as he was about to make contact with her mouth, she turned her head, and placed her fingers on her temple. "Sorry…I'm not feeling so well…don't know what's…" She felt herself suddenly lose her equilibrium, and he steadied her.

"Want the doctor to have a look at you?"

"Not a bad idea…-I-" Miranda's legs instantly buckled, and he caught her just before she could fall on the floor. Her eyes snapped shut as she lost consciousness.

* * *

Binary Helix Headquarters, Noveria, 814h

"Good morning," Liara announced as she strolled through several aisles of scientific equipment to get to Mordin's station. "How did you sleep?"

"Will sleep later today, must run more tests. Think I've made some real headway!" He held up his fist triumphantly as she came within one foot of the table, and his expression changed to terror two seconds later. "Oh dear." The container that he had placed the Ochrana bracelet in was violently shaking and not calming down. "Get down!" he yelled and leapt to the side of the desk, covering his ears. Liara instinctively did the same, and soon thereafter, there was a loud thump, a flash of brilliant white light, and a foul stench in the air. Seconds after the explosion cleared, they both arose to survey the damage.

The bureau's computer, microscope, and scales were charred beyond the point of recognition. "Most unsatisfactory," Mordin sighed to himself. "Will have to start from square one again. Good thing I made a backup on omni-tool before arming test. Should definitely decrease power of laser; five watts is much too high." He brought up his data and typed in his observations. "Radiation levels of laboratory are currently…oh, that's not very safe. Reminder to take decontamination shower before consuming breakfast this morning."

Liara's expression change to concern."Will I need to take one as well?"

"No, asari are much more resilient to radiation than salarians. Perhaps that explains the long lifespans…hmm…uncertain. Anyway, much to do, much to do."

"The reason why I came, Dr. Solus, was to ask you if you've been having any other equipment malfunctions. What I mean, is that I tried to get in touch with the Normandy earlier, and there was no response. I was hypothesizing that perhaps the reason why was because of the dreadful weather that's outside." She pointed to the unbelievably strong winds blowing across the mountaintops beside them. "And I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but we are most likely running out of time."

"Yes, yes, that is true. Isn't that odd how we can never add to time? Always running out of it...can't buy more of it from a store somewhere like you can food or drink. Attempting to contact the Normandy using my own personal device…" Mordin typed in the address and frowned. "Suppose it could be storm's interference…but it looks like something else is causing our signals to be blocked."

"Is there any way to find out for sure?"

"Affirmative." He deleted the previous address and dialed another one. "Hmm…got through to Sur'Kesh, the salarian home world perfectly. Do not like this."

"Something's not right on the Normandy; we must go back. I cannot just sit and wait here. At the very least, we need to investigate what's wrong!"

Mordin coolly scanned his omni-tool around his former workstation and found the remains of the container that had the Ochrana bracelet in it. The device was sitting on top of the rubble, but it was no longer emanating a red pulse! "Ah, this does look promising," he smiled.

"Are you listening to me?!" She shook his arm, and he stiffened up to face her.

"Yes, Dr. T'Soni, am always listening. However, without the measure to this countermeasure," he gestured to the bracelet, "cannot hope to possibly go up against Cerberus and survive! Just give me a little more time. Will also need to perform a few more tests…eventually upon something organic."

She sighed impatiently and went back to her office. Liara called up her omni-tool's connection to the Broker network and made contact with Agent Serena Longoria, who had just been typing on her holographic keyboard. "Oh, I was just going to send you my report in a moment. You have good timing," Longoria commented.

It took a moment for Liara to remember to turn the voice filter on; she had been calling the Normandy for hours and forgotten all about it. "Summarize your report, Agent Longoria."

"The first thing you asked me about, Broker, the Ochrana device, I have a smidgen of information on that, if you're interested. Don't worry, I also have been working on the other objectives."

"Good."

"I've come across some schematics for the Ochrana weapon. I'm not precisely sure what they all mean, since I'm not a biotic engineer, but I have forwarded them to you…the attached notes at the bottom suggest that this technology does not belong to Cerberus."

"You mean that this is not human technology?"

"That's what my conclusions are, yes." Longoria nodded and sent the electronic information to Liara.

"Well done, Agent Longoria. How would you feel about being part of an experiment?" Liara quickly forwarded these schematics to Mordin's omni-tool. _There, that'll hurry things along._

_ "_What kind of experiment, Shadow Broker?"

"Binary Helix on Noveria is attempting to counteract the effects of the Ochrana weapon. Since you do have biotic powers, Agent Longoria, this would most likely be beneficial for you. Do you have the L5x implants?"

"Most definitely. I didn't know that the Ochrana could also disable these kinds of implants since the technology is pretty new."

"I've seen it in action." Liara thought back to when she saw Jack powerless and was also reminded of the havoc that the bracelet wreaked upon her own body. It was the first time in her life that she had been truly terrified; she had had no defenses whatsoever.

"When will this experiment take place?"

"You will need to make arrangements to come to Noveria as soon as possible. The executives from Binary Helix have also selected the Normandy for the same kind of prototype. You will need to escort an asari administrator and a salarian biotic engineer aboard. Their safety is a priority. The sum of five thousand credits have been allocated to your account for this service in advance."

"Thank you, Shadow Broker. I will find an excuse to get away from Cerberus...at least for a while. Shall I give my real name to the security services or a pseudonym?"

"Your real name will be required to pass on through. Meet the asari administrator Dr. Liara T'Soni and Dr. Mordin Solus at the Peak 15 research station. However, I must warn you that the weather in the Aleutsk Valleys will be severe. Take a durable vehicle with you."

"How far is Peak 15 from Port Hanshan?"

"Five point five kilometers. There will be a human waiting in the hotel bar to speak with you regarding transportation. Her name is Gianna Parasini, from Noveria Internal Affairs."

"As you say. Agent Longoria out."

Liara disconnected the channel and brought up another one on her omni-tool. "Dr. Solus, this is Dr. T'Soni. Pardon the interruption, but-"

"_Where_ did you get these?"

"I can't say, actually, sorry."

"Oh, right," he nodded. "Anyhow, with these schematics, a measure to the countermeasure is most definitely within hours, perhaps minutes should I receive all of the materials I've asked for!"

"That's wonderful! Did you happen to glance at the notations upon the bottom?"

"Hmm…haven't had time yet but can look while PC boards are being constructed. Oh, must go now, materials have arrived. How excellent...almost as exciting as working on the countermeasure to the Collector seeker swarms!"

* * *

Normandy SR-2, Armory, 912h

Several thoughts were plaguing Jacob Taylor's mind at the moment. The best way to focus them all was to do a little working out. He took off his shirt and activated his personal stereo system. As the beat of the music started off slowly, he began with some push-ups on his knuckles. Only two crew members voted for him-two-Legion and Chambers! _Out of the entire damned crew, only the shrink and some freaking geth believe in me? How damned pathetic is that?_

_Something isn't right about this Dean Watson spectre guy. I got a bad feeling about him when we first met, and it still hasn't gone away. In fact, he and Miranda were the only ones __**not**__ at breakfast in the mess this morning. That can't be a coincidence. Thought she was falling in love with Shepard. _

_ I miss him. He would eat every morning with all of us at seven-thirty without fail._

Once he counted 100, Jacob repositioned himself on the floor so he could do some crunches.

_Okay, maybe once a week, Shepard would sleep in until eight. But he still wouldn't miss breakfast with the crew. He always was interested in each of our dreams, our hopes, our fears. Eh, maybe I'm being too hard on Watson because I'm comparing him to Shepard too much. I can't expect anyone to measure up to him. Watson sounds like a good leader. Only problem is…me, I guess. Why is everyone else so quick to jump on his bandwagon, though? Just because he's a good speaker? That doesn't cut it for me. He's gonna have to prove himself more than that for my loyalty._

Sweat began to bead itself down Jacob's torso, arms and head as he gradually picked up speed.

_I can feel that his charms are starting to win over Chambers, too! This morning, all she could talk about was how Watson was just as good of a commander as Shepard. Yesterday, she voted for me! Something's wrong here-she wouldn't just change her mind like that without some help. Well, I'll give him a chance. One chance._

Jacob stopped his exercise and arose from the floor. He began to type at his holographic keyboard and sent the message to Shepard's terminal. "There. If he doesn't respond to this, this'll prove my theory."

* * *

Two hours later…

Jacob came back from his shower and shave to his terminal. He had flagged the message as important and asked for a return receipt. Watson hadn't even read it. "This tears it," he told himself and thumped his fist against the table his computer rested upon. With complete determination, he walked out of the armory and pressed the elevator button in the CIC.

"Good morning, Operative Taylor," Kelly Chambers greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, Chambers. It's just Jacob, okay?" The elevator seemed to be taking its own sweet time, so he leaned up against the wall to face her.

"As you'd like, Jacob. What do you think of our new commander?"

"What made you suddenly change your tune? Thought you voted for me yesterday."

"Well, that was because I knew you better and you were technically next in line. But now, I think I should've voted for him. I hope you don't take offense, Jacob, but I think he's just what the Normandy needs right now."

"He can talk for sure and yeah, he's a Spectre. But I've never seen him lead a squad or a mission. I'll reserve judgment till I see him in action." Jacob shrugged, and thankfully, the lift opened up. It emptied out with a few excited crew members in it talking amongst themselves. They were praising Watson already!

The elevator could not have moved any slower this morning. Finally, it reached the captain's quarters, and Jacob knocked first.

"Come," a voice called from inside.

Jacob journeyed inside to find Watson on the floor doing sit-ups. "Ah, Taylor, you all right?" Watson cheerily greeted him.

The shower was running full-blast, and Jacob noticed the steam seeping out from underneath the closed bathroom door. It was circumstantial, but the revelation hit him like the poison from a thresher maw's venom as he noticed a familiar suit of clothes with the Cerberus logo lying upon the floor. "Morning, sir." He couldn't bring it upon himself to call this man "commander" or "captain". At least not yet.

"You need something?" Watson breathed heavily as he closed his eyes in concentration.

"I don't mean to rush you, sir, but did you check your messages this morning?"

"Haven't had the chance to do so, no. What is it?"

Jacob inwardly sighed. At least it didn't sound like a complete lie of omission. "I wanted to see if I could assist you with any plans to rescue Shepard. Or rather, sir, if I may be so bold, I was wondering what your thoughts were on the matter."

"We're waiting to hear back from this Dr. T'Soni and Dr. Solus from Noveria before we do anything grand. This weapon that Cerberus made seems to be a real ass kicker," Watson replied and opened his eyes.

"I know Mordin's address. Would you like me to call him, sir?"

"Not necessary, Taylor, I'll do it myself."

"With all due respect, sir…" Jacob began. The door to the bathroom opened, and Miranda emerged wearing only a towel. The ex-Alliance corsair cleared his throat and averted his eyes.

"Morning, Jacob," she said and went to retrieve one of her spare outfits from Shepard's closet. The other one lay crumpled in a pile on the floor. "Still a gentleman, I see. You know, Watson, a few years ago, Jacob and I used to date."

"Ancient history, sir," Jacob butted in.

"No doubts there," Watson smirked and watched Miranda retreat back into the bathroom and close the door. "As you were saying, Taylor…with all due respect?"

"Yes, sir. With all due respect, I can wait, but how long can Shepard? Who knows what the Illusive Man wants with him? What if he's already dead?"

"That possibly remains unlikely, Jacob. Miranda told me how it all played out. Why send an assassin to capture Shepard if killing him's all the Illusive Man's got in store for Shepard?"

"You're right, sir." It hurt Jacob to admit it, but he had to show respect for his new superior. The best way he knew to do what he wanted secretly was to play along with the boss. It suited him doing that a few times in the Alliance, and this time, the situation was no different. "Do you need me, sir?"

"Not at the moment, no. Carry on, Mr. Taylor."

Jacob saluted Watson and took off with a purpose. He went down in the elevator back to the second floor, then traveled through the CIC and the armory, making his way into the communication room. "Enough is enough. It's time to do something...can't just sit on my ass and wait," he muttered.

* * *

Undisclosed location in Milky Way galaxy, 1304h

The Illusive Man slid his access card into the secure laboratory and made his way into the chamber towards Garrus. The turian was anchored down to a chair, his hands and feet bound with clamps to it securely. He lifted his head groggily to try and look at who was here but was so overpowered by the drugs they were giving him that he could not. Morrison handed him a data pad. "We'll pull him off of the painkillers later this afternoon," she informed him. "He's pretty resilient to pain, though. Turians are harder to kill than they look."

He gave the data pad a perfunctory glance and returned it to her. "What've you been doing to him?"

"Replacing some of his cybernetic parts. What happened to him, if I might ask, sir?"

"He went up against a gunship a while ago. It surprised him and fortunately, Shepard was able to recruit this alien for his mission. We had our best people on the Normandy patch him up some months ago. How bad were the recent damages?"

"We sent some nanites into his cybernetic implants to do some repairs. Would you like for us to continue the experiments?"

"Hmm…" He considered her question. "Pull him off the drugs now. I want to talk to him. And leave us."

"Sir…?"

"Yes, you have my permission to continue. Now do as I say, Morrison."

"Yes, sir." She obeyed him immediately and motioned to the other scientists that they were to exit the lab.

The Illusive Man waited a few moments until they were gone and for Garrus to open his eyes. "So, you're him," Garrus said weakly. "The Illusive Man in flesh and blood."

"I have some questions for you, Archangel."

"The name's Vakarian. Archangel doesn't exist any more."

"We'll play it your way for now, then." He nodded and put his hands behind his back. "So, Vakarian, Cerberus paid you a great deal of money to serve under Shepard. What made you stay with him after you defeated the Collectors? You could've gone back to your previous life of fighting crime."

"The desire to live the life of a vigilante left me after I got nailed by that Blue Suns' gunship. That's a good enough reason as any."

"Not really. I've read your dossier; you tried to train as a Spectre. Clearly, you thought that you could make a difference to the galaxy by being a lapdog to the Council. Did Shepard's death encourage you to take that action, or was there another motivation?"

"Since when did you start to care about aliens?" Garrus slurred.

"If that were not entirely true, do you think I'd be wasting Cerberus resources on repairing your cybernetics and improving your immune system?"

"I'm just a lab rat to you, nothing more," the turian coughed.

"You are useful to Cerberus, indeed. But back to my original question, Vakarian. Why did you stay with Shepard after the mission was over?"

"Shepard…gives me hope. Nothing more than a sliver, but…his courage under fire is remarkable." He hesitated to lift his head up and found that he was able to do so. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm planning on giving Shepard some more hope…for everyone. There might, however…be a few changes in his personality as a result. This eventuality is one that we cannot avoid; even Saren could not completely deny himself to the Reapers when he allied himself with them."

"Why do you…say that?" Garrus' head was still on cloud 9; he couldn't quite make sense of what the Illusive Man was saying. "One day, you're going to pay for all that you've done to all of us, all of your sins."

"You are a short-sighted fool, Vakarian. You cannot even begin to comprehend what doing this will mean for humanity and your race, let alone _all_ races." He shook his head and walked out of the lab.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Normandy SR-2, Debriefing/Comms Room, 1319h

Jacob activated his omni-tool and typed in the address that Mordin had given to him. "All right, let's do this," he said to himself.

Suddenly, EDI's blue matrix interface popped up. "I apologize, Mr. Taylor, but I cannot connect your call."

"Why?"

"Commander Watson has ordered that all communications go through himself alone. This command cannot be overridden, except with an encrypted password that only he has."

"Figures," Jacob grimaced. "All right, thanks anyway, EDI."

An idea hit him…there was someone who had voted for him yesterday that he had not spoken to yet. Maybe, just maybe, there was somebody on this ship that could help him!

Taylor rushed out of the debriefing room and went back to the lift. Once he was down on the crew deck, he noticed that the mess was pretty much back to normal. Everyone was laughing and joking around, just like when Shepard was onboard. He passed them all and went towards the medical bay. Dr. Chakwas was there, and she turned around to greet him. "Operative Taylor, how are you feeling?"

"Just fine, Doc. If you don't mind, I've got to do a software upgrade to EDI. Miranda asked me to patch it in," Jacob lied. "No time to chat."

"Certainly. I'm relieved to hear that you're feeling well," she called to him as the AI chambers opened. As the doors closed behind him, EDI popped up again.

"That was a fallacy, Mr. Taylor. My software is currently up to date, and my next backup is not until tomorrow night at twenty-two hundred hours."

"Yeah, well, I need to speak with Legion. Don't tell anyone, EDI. Hope it's not off-limits, is it?"

The synthetic intelligence untangled itself from its deactivated posture and arose. Jacob stiffened, and his hand went to reach for his sidearm instinctively. _Maybe Watson fudged with this thing's memory core. Dunno know if I can trust it just yet._

"Operative Jacob Taylor, Lieutenant Commander to Shepard-Commander." The geth's eye flashed red for a moment, then went back to its normal white hue. "Error. Lieutenant Commander to Watson-Commander. Mistake rectified in sectors 45a and 45b."

_I wonder if machines can lie to humans yet. Well, only one way to find out_, Jacob thought and his hand removed itself from his pistol. "May I speak with you, Legion, off the record?"

"We will not record this conversation, if you so desire," the geth's head bobbed up and down in understanding.

"Good to hear that. EDI, are your surveillance bugs hot in here?"

"They are not. Legion and I speak freely here, as did Shepard," she responded.

"Thanks. Yesterday, Legion, when the crew voted to pick the new captain of the Normandy, I noticed that you didn't raise your hand for Watson, but rather, me. Why'd you do that?"

"We did not have the proper data upon Watson to build a consensus. We have several amounts of data upon you, Lieutenant Commander, and based upon your combat, evaluations, and performance records, you are a more efficient choice for the rank," Legion stated quite candidly. "The Lieutenant Commander also has more tenure on the Normandy than does Watson."

"Thanks, I think." Jacob ran a hand through his hair. "Legion, can you evaluate organic behavioral pattern changes?"

"We are still learning about organic body language and motivations, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor. However, we can evaluate blood pressure and health conditions. We can also access medical records through permission."

"Ah…not quite the answer I was looking for. Guess this was a waste of time." He sighed and turned to leave, but then an idea came to his mind. "Legion, could you access those records?"

"I would require permission from EDI. I do not pass through her firewalls without prior notice."

"EDI, you don't have a block on your system with medical records, do you?"

"I do not, Mr. Taylor, so please feel free to access them yourself," the AI chirped.

"Yeah, okay…uh, what's the status of the Normandy's crew?"

"There have been 71% more visits to the Normandy's medical facilities due to complaints of migraine headaches in the past twelve hours."

"Hmm…do you have any files about Reaper technology in your servers?"

"Yes, I do, however, they are of a finite number."

"Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor, the geth have some files that we are able to share with you," Legion added. "Perhaps they will benefit your knowledge."

"That's good," Jacob nodded. "Okay, can both of you search through your files regarding the Reapers' mind control methods?"

"I cannot provide you with any data, Mr. Taylor," EDI announced first. "I have a block in my system prohibiting my response."

"Why is that, EDI? We were sharing data files regarding the Old Machines yesterday," Legion inquired.

"The Commander has limited the access of these files to himself only, again, with an encrypted password."

Legion's eye moved around a few times as it considered its options. "Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor, we are prepared to share the data we have upon the Reapers' cerebral control with you. We believe that to withhold information from you would be illogical."

"Please do so," Jacob said and crossed his arms. "Looks like I may have a potential friend here."

"The Old Machines have a process to be called indoctrination. Due to the symptoms this platform has currently been observing, the Normandy's crew quite possibly, may be suffering from it."

"Uh, then why hasn't it affected me? I'm not indoctrinated, or at least, I don't think that I am. I'm not getting any migraines or anything."

"We cannot provide sufficient data to answer that query. The most logical route to find the solution would be to pursue it with Normandy's chief medical officer."

"Unless she won't tell me because she's also indoctrinated." Jacob paused to give the matter some thought as he stroked his chin. "Well, whatever, but at least you've been pretty helpful to me, which is more than I can say for anyone else on this damn ship." He started to pace back and forth. "Legion, do you trust me? Do you even know what that means?"

"We understand the verb to trust," the synthetic intelligence nodded. "We are able to use it in a sentence if necessary."

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, would you trust me?"

The geth's response was instantaneous. "Our consensus agrees that we would still vote for Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor to be commander of the Normandy in lieu of Shepard Commander should the need arise."

"Great," Jacob smiled. "I'm going to need your help, then, to override EDI's communication channels. Watson won't let anyone in or out, except through himself."

"Why did he take such action?"

"Because he didn't want anyone from the outside to get in touch with us. Tali's still on the Migrant Fleet, who knows, maybe she's been trying to call us. And Liara and Mordin are on Noveria. Maybe they've come up with a way to beat that Ochrana weapon."

"Watson-Commander does not want to progress our mission," Legion nodded. "This action is negative and prohibits the Normandy from rescuing Shepard-Commander. Watson's methods are inefficient."

"Uh, does that mean that I can count on you for your assistance?"

"We do not agree with Watson-Commander's procedures. He has eliminated the free sharing of data between this platform and EDI, to which Shepard-Commander made solely possible. Blocking communication to outside assistance is also inefficient. Our consensus has been reached, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor: we are willing and able to assist you."

"All right!" Jacob said triumphantly and he held out his hand to Legion. The synthetic intelligence also extended its hand to Jacob and pumped his up and down. "Lord, I never thought I'd do this," he exclaimed. "If I ever get kids, this'll be one of my bedtime stories for sure. A human being and a robot are shaking hands."

"New software is being created for us as well, Lieutenant Commander."

* * *

Binary Helix Headquarters, Noveria, 1705h

The all-terrain vehicle that Parasini had provided was like riding on a pair of roller-skates to Longoria. The sub-zero temperatures outside were not a welcoming sight either, but at least her armor and helmet provided some protection against the bitter cold. The sooner she got inside, the better.

Once inside the complex, Serena expected to be warmed a little, but there was not much improvement. Everyone around the area still wore parkas, ski-masks, or helmets. This told her that taking off the helmet was out of the question for now. The transport system was running smoothly, and she joined the next batch of scientists and engineers. The warm bodies that crowded the mechanized truck chatted back and forth normally. Life here seemed a lot more favorable than it had previously been, Serena noted.

Two years ago, she heard that Binary Helix had some major shareholders give up or sell their stock due to an incident with their experiments. Since she was a Shadow Broker agent, she had access to a bit of the network and decided to use what little information she could find since the agent in there apparently died. Apparently, Binary Helix was concerned about the arrival of a Spectre by the name of Commander Shepard after shareholder Matriarch Benezia arrived a few days earlier. The sheer amount of memos sent that day when Shepard arrived would drown a person up to their ears in ones and zeros.

Benezia had brought some cargo and asari commandoes with her, but nothing more was ever heard from her group. Longoria had seen a few Spectres in her lifetime and knew full well to stay clear of them to keep her own cover a secret. Some of them were just, some of them were downright vicious and ruthless, like that turian by the name of Saren Arterius. She wondered why Cerberus indeed wanted Shepard, who apparently, wasn't still dead.

After stepping off of the transport, she was greeted by a security guard. "You don't look like you work here, Miss. May I help you find someone?" he inquired.

"I'm expected here by a Dr. T'soni and Dr. Solus. Are either of those parties close by?" she queried herself. "Serena Longoria."

"Yes, ma'am, I see you have an appointment. Both of the doctors are waiting for you in the hot labs. Just take that elevator down-here's a temporary ID that'll give you access for the rest of the working day."

"I see, and what time does this facility close?"

"Last transport to the station leaves at 1830 hours. You have time, don't worry."

* * *

Minutes later, Mordin and Liara introduced themselves to her as Longoria walked off of the elevator. She took her helmet off and let her long, blonde hair down. "Whew. I hate helmet hair. Serena Longoria."

"A pleasure, Miss Longoria," Liara said and shook her hand. Mordin did the same.

"We appreciate your assistance in this experiment. Must warn you, first effects of the weapon will be slightly painful with your implants. Will ask you to try and use your powers once device is installed."

"No pain, no gain," Longoria shrugged and held out her right hand. "Does it matter which arm?"

"No, I do not believe so." Mordin retrieved the Ochrana from a heavily insulated silver briefcase and carefully clamped the bracelet on Longoria's wrist.

"It's not working," Longoria observed after he pressed a button on it.

"Give it a moment. Must standby with countermeasure nanobots." Liara gave him the other briefcase, and he attached a glass canister to a tranquilizer gun. It appeared to be filled with a gray powder. "Now try to use your biotic powers. What can you do, Miss Longoria?"

"Hmm, not much. I don't like to brag, but for a human, I'm not bad at handling myself." Longoria attempted to lift up the heavy table that was holding the briefcases, and the bracelet began to glow its familiar crimson color. "AH!" she whimpered in pain as the device surged through her nervous system and threw her to the ground. "All right, I'd like to revise my previous statement," she announced with a wince.

Mordin armed the gun and injected the machines into her jugular vein. "Effects should begin in five minutes, depending upon specimen's blood pressure."

"Specimen? Gee, thanks for the warm sentiment," Longoria grimaced, still feeling some of the Ochrana's strong mass effect fields.

"I thought that removing it would improve her condition," Liara observed coldly.

"Device removal may cause nerve damage. It did not, thankfully, have a permanent effect on you, but you will remember that the team's last attempt to do so left you in a coma for two hours," Mordin reminded her. "Do not know what potential harm to humans may be. Better to insert cure into bloodstream so that healing time will also be faster. Ready to depart, Dr. T'Soni?" He closed up the briefcases.

"Wait, don't you want to see if it works?" Longoria rose to her feet warily. "I don't know if I'll be able to drive the all-terrain POS that your agent gave me yet."

"Have experience driving one," the salarian scientist shrugged. "Cannot waste more time. Prototypes must be delivered to the Normandy ASAP."

"Your company has some crazy deadlines to meet, huh? All right, I think I can walk. Let's go." She secured her helmet back on her head.

* * *

Port Hanshan Plaza, Noveria, 1754h

Gianna Parasini was waiting for them in the garage as they departed the vehicle. Longoria returned the keys to her and was once again glad to take off her helmet. "You know, that thing's struts and shocks are shot to Hell. You oughta replace those soon if you wanna avoid being thrown around in there like a kernel of popcorn," she told the agent.

"That would explain why the Board got it at such a good price. I'll make a note of it to our mechanics," Parasini replied and typed the information on a data pad. "Dr. T'Soni, Dr. Solus? Good luck with that countermeasure. Hope it helps your company's stock soar. Binary Helix could use it. I'd love to go with you, except that the Board asked me to step out and fight white collar crime again. Got another leak on Illium this time."

"How're you feeling, Miss Longoria?" Liara asked her agent.

"Better. Feel like I'm back to my old normal self," Longoria replied. "There's only one way to find out if your cure works or not."

"Perhaps she should wait, Dr. Solus?"

The salarian disagreed. "Time is of the essence, Dr. T'Soni. If she says that she's feeling optimal enough to want to try, better to do so now before we leave Noveria."

"Then it's settled." Longoria put her helmet down and charged up her biotics. The familiar blue glow associated with the fields returned to her body, and she lifted up a few containers in front of her.

"Are you in pain?" Mordin asked.

The human shook her head no, and threw all of them down at once with such a violent force that they all broke.

"Oh dear. Those were full of eezo," Parasini sighed. "Well, clearly, your engineers know what they're doing." As Longoria pulled a few more towards her, she prepared to lift them up and throw them down when Parasini laid a hand on her shoulder. "Would you mind testing your strength on those containers over there, please, and not these ones? They're empty at least."

Longoria smirked and released her biotic field. The containers adhered to gravity and fell, still destroying all the materials inside.

Liara sneaked a credit chit into Parasini's palm. "That should take care of the damage. Sorry," she whispered.

The Shadow Broker agent picked up her helmet and followed the scientists into elevator to the plaza. "So, what's Binary Helix's role in all this?" Longoria inquired of Liara.

"What do you mean?" the asari returned mysteriously.

"Obviously, if you're needing an escort like me taking you to the Normandy, something big is going down." Longoria sniffled and wiped her nose.

"Are you bleeding?"

"A little. Don't worry, I'm a fast healer." She wiped the blood between her gloved fingertips and sniffled again. "I'm not taking you anywhere until I get a few answers. Quid pro quo, Doctors."

"How about if we add a bonus for no questions asked?"

"Won't work," Longoria disagreed. "I'm in the information business, Dr. T'Soni. And you're out of options."

Mordin glanced at Liara as if to say 'you'd better tell her something or else'.

"We heard that the Normandy has quite a few unique crew members with biotic abilities, and that they're on some kind of mission. It's not my place to ask, but I received some schematics from an information broker who holds a lot of shares in Binary Helix. He said that he'd prefer that it be tested with some formidable warriors," Liara spun her web of fiction flawlessly.

"There are lots of people on Noveria who have biotics. I'm not buying it," Longoria shook her head. They stepped out of the elevator and began to travel across the plaza towards the docking bay.

"I'm afraid you'll have to. There's nothing more to the story."

"I know a liar when I look one in the face, and yours is telling me everything I need to know. Come clean with me, or I'm taking my ship the hell outta here without either of you. I couldn't care less about your money, your goddamned shares, and your fucking clients," Longoria spat.

"Calm down, there's no need for language of that sort."

"Then maybe you should tell me what you're up to before I lose my temper."

"You aren't the only one with biotic gifts, Miss Longoria." Liara's entire body began to charge up her own powers and her voice dropped to an ominous pitch. "I will tell you what you need to know to get to the Normandy. Do you really want to take a risk that might leave your body an empty shell or a pile of fatty tissue?"

The Elanus Risk Control security guards were watching them closely and keeping both hands on their assault rifles.

"All we know is that the Normandy is set upon a race against evil," Mordin finally spoke. "And our company could use some good publicity, that's all."

"I'm glad that somebody here is willing to get his hands dirty," Longoria smirked. "That's good enough for me…as long as those other ten thousand credits find their way into my bank account."

The azure field surrounding the asari's body disappeared. "Done," Liara agreed with a nod.

They continued their journey toward the docking bay. Silence accompanied them for the next five minutes until Longoria interrupted it.

"So, Binary Helix just wants to do some good for the public, eh? That doesn't sound like the corporate bunch they once were. Have you been with the company long?"

Liara returned her question with one of her own. "Why?"

"Hmm…well, I heard about a major shareholder two years ago that was an asari matriarch that came through here. She was never heard from again. Rumor has it that her disappearance coincides with the appearance of a certain spectre that visited Noveria not long afterward." They stepped aboard Longoria's small ship, the SSV Calgary Goddess, which was much smaller than the Normandy. Liara found it difficult to disguise her face after hearing Serena's comment and was very thankful that the human was occupied with closing the airlock. "So, what system is the Normandy in?"

"Uh…that's just the thing. We're not sure," Mordin timidly answered her.

"All right, rather than wasting fuel, how about we just sit here and you can pay the docking fees until we do know?" Longoria shelved her helmet and sat in the pilot's chair. "I took off some time from my other job to do this, so I don't mind waiting."

"We had some issues trying to communicate with the Normandy. I think that there's some interference on their end; their transmissions have been blocked," Liara explained.

"I see. Well, whenever you can talk to them, get on the comm channel and let me know." She put her booted feet onto the dashboard. "The floor below this one has some rudimentary quarters. I say rudimentary because you're two big corporate execs probably used to luxury cruising, so have at it. Stairs leading down to it are aft on the port side."

Once they were out of ear range and halfway down the steps, Mordin motioned to the bow of the ship with his head. "Not the friendliest mercenary, is she?"

"She works for Cerberus; don't expect her to be sympathetic to us," Liara responded serenely. "Come on. Let's try them again."

* * *

Normandy SR-2, AI Core, 1802h

"So I'd better get going to the medical bay and report my fake migraine, too, to avoid suspicion," Jacob informed Legion. "I'm not sure how long that will take, so I'll also go eat dinner with the others. Keeping up appearances is the best thing for me to do right now."

"Understood, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor." Legion's head once again bobbed up and down. "We will notify you when our hacking attempts have been completed. Alert: this window of time will likely be short once it happens. How would you like for us to communicate with you since you are not networked into us?"

"Uh, EDI, could you do that?"

"My software might not support that function. My firewalls are very difficult to breach, and I may be tasked to capacity whilst trying to counteract the geth," the AI answered truthfully.

"Counteract the geth? But EDI, why would you do that?"

"I regret to inform you that it is part of my programming to resist any attempt at breaking the commander's passwords, regardless of the fact that I know that it is Legion."

"Well, at you're honest about it," Jacob admitted. "Trying to see through every other facade has been Hell."

"Perhaps we could send you a message at your private terminal with a digital encryption," Legion suggested.

"Um, I'm not a computer geek. I just use my terminal to access the extranet and read or write private messages."

"We will communicate via your personal terminal and use weak encryption."

Jacob sighed. "Maybe I should just stay here."

"That is not necessary. We have protection." Legion motioned to his assault rifle that rested next to one of the servers. "We have set it to taser mode should the need arise for defense."

"All right. I'm off to be poked and prodded." Jacob opened the doors and left the AI core. "Hey Doc, staring at those electronic interfaces have given me a whopping migraine." He held his hand against his head like he was being crippled. "Felt like I was never gonna finish that install."

"These sumatriptan pills should do the trick. How bad is your headache?" she inquired and gave him an orange bottle.

"Just hit me all of a sudden like a baseball bat or something."

"I know how you feel. A lot of us are experiencing this. Are you headed for dinner?"

"Yeah, and then probably to get some shuteye."

"Good idea. Take two of these since you'll be getting some food into your system, but don't take any more until tomorrow morning. We'll see how your condition improves."

"Right, thanks, Dr. Chakwas." Jacob pocketed the bottle and made a beeline for the mess. Just as he was about to get a plate and join the other crew members, Dean Watson's voice came over the P.A. system.

"All squad members, please report to the debriefing room as soon as possible. I've got a plan to rescue Commander Shepard."

* * *

Five minutes later, the debriefing room…

Jacob was second to last to walk into the room, and Watson followed him. "Thank to you all for your attendance. I must apologize if this interrupted anyone's dinner," he started. "This couldn't wait, and I knew all of you were waiting for this since last night. So I must also thank you for your patience."

"No problem, Commander. Rushing into things blind is a stupid idea," Zaeed Massani retorted. The others round the table nodded in agreement.

"In the Arghos system and the Sidon cluster, there is a planet named Cyprus where I've found a possible connection to Shepard. There's a base located on this planet that we must infiltrate in order to gain access to Cerberus' files. There's a major server room in there that is responsible for a great deal of their information. It will likely contain patrol routes, bases, and their headquarters, possibly where Shepard is."

_This plan almost sounds legitimate. But if that's true, then why did Watson cut off our outside communication? _Jacob asked himself.

"We'll be there tomorrow night. We'll surprise 'em just after the grave shift changes over. Begin preparations, people."

"Aye, aye," the majority of squad members said and left.

Watson gently patted Jacob on the arm. "Could I have a moment of your time, please?"

"Yes, sir."

"This won't take long, I promise. Now, do I have your trust, Jacob? I think we might have gotten off on a bad leg or something this morning."

"I'm here for you, sir. You did say that you needed some time."

"Mmm…you've been on this ship longer than I have, and Miranda tells me that you served in the Alliance. I can tell when someone feels like they've been passed over, and I failed to realize that earlier this morning. Please accept my apologies." Watson held out his hand, and Jacob took it, even though he didn't truly want to forgive the Spectre. "Do I have your cooperation, Lieutenant Commander?"

"My weapons and powers are yours to lead, sir."

The South African grinned jovially. "Glad that that's over. Thought I'd have to throw you into the brig." Jacob didn't smile back. "Relax, man. Go have a few beers."

"Best order that came from you yet." Jacob forced himself to say that one, even though it was painful. He wasted no more time and headed for the armory. A message had been sent to him recently, and it had an attachment. The file took only moments to download, and the application immediately began to run on his terminal.

Some very strange synthesized music began to play in the background, and Jacob watched these extremely primitive two-dimensional graphics scroll across the screen. "Super Mario Brothers? What the hell…?" he read aloud. Instructions to the video game popped up on the screen. "Use the directional arrows to move forward. Hit the key 'a' to jump. Use the combination of the right arrow and 'b' to dash. Is this some of joke?" He was about to walk away from his terminal when more directions scrolled up from the bottom. "Avoid falling into the empty spaces, enemies, and hit question mark blocks for power-up items. Complete stage to achieve goal of saving the princess. What kind of bullshit is this? Where'd this message come from?" He tried to hit the escape button, but the program continued to run. One last set of directions gave him his answer. "There is a timer on this mission. If you do not reach the castle in time, she may die at the hands of a very powerful and evil king. Oh."

Jacob turned off his monitor and made his way down to the AI core again. Thankfully, Dr. Chakwas had completed her shift for the day and was not in the medical bay to question him this time.

"I gotta admit, man, you're good. It took me a while to figure out why in the hell a person in their right mind would wanna play that stupid stuff," Jacob shook his head. "Where'd you find that thing?"

"It was through the extranet. The very first video games were fabricated in the twentieth century, on Earth," Legion replied.

"So what happened at the end of it?"

"The end?"

"You know, most video games have these huge, elaborate plots that let you decide how you're gonna impact your world or somebody else's. What happened at the end of this Super Mario Brothers?"

"The princess is saved from King Bowser, a terrible dinosaur."

"That's it?"

"She thanks Luigi and Mario, two plumbers that are brothers, for their kind assistance."

"And then what?"

"No data is available, Lieutenant Commander Taylor."

"Guess that just proves my point of how stupid the damn things are," Jacob sighed. "So you got through. Can we do it from here, or do we have to go upstairs?"

"Unfortunately, we must use the communications room. Any crew member could detect or monitor this call."

"I've got another question, if there's time."

"The window of opportunity will remain open for another twenty minutes."

"You're a machine, but, you're different than EDI. Do you like to share data with her?"

"The partnership is mutually beneficial," Legion agreed. "Although this time, it was not."

"Indeed…I felt my circuits over-clocking themselves to their maximum speed at the time," EDI responded casually. "Humans may equate this same electronic impulse with the act of an orgasm. Do not worry, Legion. I will not take offense upon your actions."

"Oh, wow. Way more information than I needed to know," Jacob threw his hand over his mouth. "I think I'll head upstairs now. Will you come with me, Legion?"

"Lieutenant Commander Taylor's orders are ours to follow," the geth nodded and retrieved the rifle from its resting place.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way galaxy, 1837h

Shepard stared despondently at the plastic tray of food as the guard pushed it through the slot and reluctantly accepted it. He was now able to move throughout the cell, but his arms and legs were still restricted with electronic chains.

"Cerberus' rations are worse than the Alliance's," he grumbled to himself and tore the included package open containing a plastic spork as well as a paper napkin. The questionable meat in the largest partition was likely their idea of a Salsbury steak, and the green mush mixed in with the mashed potatoes was apparently green beans. Shepard had no idea how much time had passed since he'd been kidnapped; all he could do was to count the amount of meals he'd been fed, and he certainly had plenty of time to reflect about his choices in life…

Some were good and more recently…he made a _horrible_ one.

_I lied to her…to both of them. _

He recalled a very dark time in his life before he served his second tour with Anderson on the SSV Normandy; it happened to him in '78 not long after his famous raid on Torfan. Anderson met him in a VA hospital on Elysium and convinced Shepard to join his crew on the SSV Hong Kong.

They brought a few former asari pirates onboard the ship that had intel that delayed an intentional exposure of tainted element zero on Ferris Fields. One of them became taken with him, and he very quickly fell for her. She, however, had other ideas, and secretly involved herself with one of his superior officers.

The senior officer found out that about her duplicity and attacked her as well as Shepard. When Shepard discovered that he was nothing more than a lustful infatuation…a piece of meat to this asari…

She cruelly even told him to his face that she had no regrets and was not even remorseful for what she had done. That evening, he drowned himself in his heartbreak with alcohol. He destroyed two punching bags the next morning.

Shepard picked up the spork and unenthusiastically shoved some of the meat into his mouth with it.

_I just did the same goddamned thing that asari whore did to me to Miranda and Liara. _

"The slime on this crappy steak has got more personality than you, you lecherous prick," he murmured and lifted it up again. "You don't deserve either one of those ladies. Being the savior of the galaxy doesn't give you a carte blanche to be an asshole." The gravy dripped slowly and coagulated onto the tray.

_Should I even try to beg for their forgiveness? _

Several footsteps from outside his confinement interrupted his thoughts.

"Come inside with me," the Illusive Man ordered two soldiers and Agent Morrison as he entered Shepard's cell. They saluted him and followed him wordlessly. "I've considered your offer, Commander Shepard, and a congratulations are in order. I will honor all parts of the bargain, provided that you keep yours." He pointed his finger at the restraints, which Morrison deactivated with her omni-tool. Shepard lowered his wrists to his sides. "However, this," he pointed to the Ochrana bracelet around Shepard's wrist, "will stay on at all times for my personnel's safety. I'm sure you'll understand my reasons."

Shepard nodded. "I do. Have you released Jack and Garrus yet?"

"Name the time they are to be released, and I will do it. I will also make that call to my agents inside the Alliance."

"You'll understand that I demand to be present for that call." Shepard rubbed his wrists to get some feeling back into them.

"Completely." The Illusive Man had Agent Morrison type in the address for the Cerberus agent in charge.

"Operator 14, group alpha, reporting in from the Artemis Tau systems," a male voice answered. "Intelligence reports that Alliance vessels are constructing AA defensive towers in the Knossos cluster. Turian dreadnoughts are also believed to be in the area. There is a joint cooperative mission on the planet En Gedi to expel a rogue mercenary group who call themselves the Silhouettes. They may be an off-shoot of the legendary Eclipse band from the Terminus systems."

There was no live vid feed of the man speaking, but Shepard swore that he sounded a lot like an old Alliance Academy instructor by the name of Steven Kovach. Kovach was a rear admiral by rank, and he taught a course by the name of 'Classical Strategies', which encompassed practically all ancient warfare up to the time that man first invented the gun. He claimed that the invention of the gun made humans truly forget how devastating the taking of a life can be since they can be pointed and fired from a long distance. Guns and bombs made war impersonal. _I worshipped this man_! Shepard thought to himself. _This couldn't be him. Kovach just couldn't be a Cerberus rat._

"Operator 14, recall how many operatives are not only in your group, but also the ones that are in the Delta, Omega, and Beta groups," the Illusive Man ordered.

"Yes, sir. There are a total of twenty of us, myself included. Do you have orders for the entire cell?"

"Yes, please hold for instructions." The Illusive Man whispered a command into Morrison's ear, and she muted their side of the conversation. "Shepard, there is a code sentence that I have composed to abort all operations. And as soon as this operative hears it, he will immediately disband the groups, and abort all of Cerberus' work in the Alliance. Is this clear to you?"

"Does he have a countersign to it?" Shepard asked and sat up from the operating table.

"No. We don't work that way."

"What happens after that?"

"All operatives go home."

"And _never _return to Cerberus?"

"Nowhere in our deal did it say that I had to fire them, Shepard. They'll be distributed elsewhere in the galaxy, unless of course, a few of them want to retire. Rear Admiral Kovach has been loyal to me for the past twenty-two years. He was with us in the beginning."

Shepard nearly felt nauseous. It **_was_** his voice! "Fine. Do it."

Morrison reactivated her omni-tool's microphone. "Hades is not merciful," the Illusive Man stated.

"Repeating message for confirmation; 'Hades is not merciful'," Kovach's voice responded.

"That is correct."

"Order received, sir. All Alliance contacts will disband immediately." Morrison closed the communication channel.

"Is that good enough for you?" the Illusive Man wondered.

"Yes. You can release Jack and Garrus at any time now." Shepard arose.

"Once again, Shepard, I am taking a great risk with you. This leap of faith is nearly as big as the first chance I gave you." The Illusive Man pointed at him.

"So am I." _And I hope my team gets here before I have to fulfill my second part of the bargain._

* * *

Normandy SR-2, Debriefing/Communication Room, 1847h

"We will protect Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor to the best of our abilities," Legion declared as they walked inside. He withdrew the geth rifle from his hip holster and maximized the barrel to its full extension.

"How long have I got again?"

"Precisely five minutes. We would advise a brief auditory exchange with Dr. Solus and Dr. T'soni."

"Understood, Legion. Okay, here goes." Jacob interfaced his omni-tool with the Normandy communication relay. "Whew, glad we're near a buoy. The signal should be nice and strong."

Seconds later, Mordin's image came up. "Oh! Jacob! What a pleasant surprise!" the Salarian exclaimed.

"Is Dr. T'soni with you?"

"Yes!" the asari enthused. "Finally! Why couldn't we get through to the Normandy?"

"It's a long story, Liara, but basically, we're really screwed right now. The only two crew members currently aboard the Normandy you can trust are me and Legion. And I don't know how long that will last," Jacob informed them.

"Four minutes left, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor," Legion interrupted him and kept his aim at the door.

"What do you mean?" Mordin queried.

"I don't know how, but somehow the entire crew minus Legion and I have been indoctrinated. I can't talk for long; Legion had to hack through EDI's firewalls for me to even be able to make this call to you. And our position might be compromised at any minute. These are the Normandy's current coordinates." Jacob began to type quickly and hit the 'send' key even faster.

"Coordinates received," Mordin confirmed. "We're on Noveria at the moment. We can be where you are in three hours, provided of course, that you stay your course."

"We're had no reason to do so yet. But if for some odd reason that you can't make it aboard, we'll be going to the Arghos system, in the Sidon cluster, to a planet named Cyprus."

"Three minutes to possible detection, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor," Legion stated once more.

"I've gotta go. I'm going to try and contact Tali next."

"Over and out," Mordin replied.

Jacob typed in another number on his omni-tool, but unfortunately, before he could dial, the doors opened and Dean Watson walked inside. "So, we have a Judas among us," the South African's tone was accusatory.

"I'm not a traitor, Watson. We needed-"

"Obedience is loyalty, Mr. Taylor. Why did you breach EDI's and my protocols?"

"Sir, it was really hard to trust your vision without some kind of outside help. Liara and Mordin are able to help us save Shepard-I bet they came up with the cure to the Ochrana weapon!"

"Your lack of trust is irrefutable." Watson gestured to Legion, who still had his rifle drawn. "Stand down now, both of you, or there will be consequences."

"Negative; this platform has observed that you are an ineffectual leader. You do not produce viable results like Shepard-Commander. You are also attempting to manipulate all organic life on this ship…very much like the Old Machines," Legion said. "This violates what future the geth and organics hope to build. You have improperly usurped Shepard-Commander's position of authority." Jacob did a double take; did the geth just insult a human?

Watson did not reply; his face was completely devoid of emotion. He simply strolled outside of the debriefing room. Seconds later, all squad members rushed inside, armed to the teeth in threatening stances. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, Jacob held up his hands in surrender. Legion turned his head to gaze upon his superior officer, bent down, put his rifle on the floor, and did the same.

* * *

Horse Head Nebula System, SSV Calgary Goddess, 2028h

Longoria made herself some coffee and relaxed herself in the cockpit. This ship wasn't as fancy as the Normandy, or even some Alliance ships. It did get her where she wanted to go, burned fuel clean as whistle, and sure as hell needed some new upholstery. The leather was _really_ starting to wear down; the pilot's chair alone felt like a prison bunk. That's what she'd do with the funds from this mission, if she survived it. Then maybe she'd take a real vacation, away from Cerberus, away from the Shadow Broker, and go back home to Toronto. She hadn't been back to Earth for three years now, which seemed like a lifetime ago. Space travel wasn't starting to get dull quite yet, but it'd be nice to go out to a nightclub where there were only humans. All the good human men seemed to be vying for the asari, which was a little obnoxious since most of them were naturally all aesthetically perfect. No competition was there from the quarians-they couldn't show their faces, take off their protective suits, or even have skin upon skin contact without worry of infection. Krogan women rarely left their home planet Tuchanka. Turian women distanced themselves completely from humans since there was still a trust issue. She didn't hate aliens, but she sure didn't love them, either.

_Damn. Here comes the asari bitch. Gotta play nice._

"Serena, thank you for your hard work. How long will it take for us to get to the Normandy?" Liara asked.

_Come on, where's the fake smile that all of you wear?_

"Well, thanks to the FTL drives we've got…I estimate an hour. Want me to take longer? Because I sure as hell can't get us there any faster!" Longoria retorted.

"Oh, by the goddess, no, I wasn't complaining. You must forgive me. My interactions with your species haven't been as thorough as some other asari."

"But you've seen this Shepard in action, haven't you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Longoria removed her long legs from the chair across from herself and motioned for T'soni to join her, which she did, surprisingly. _They're not all as haughty as I thought._

"I asked if you know about Commander Shepard."

"Everyone knows about Commander Shepard. You'd have to be living in a cave or under a rock to have not heard of him."

"Have you met him?"

Liara bit her lip and tried not to reveal any emotional tells. Longoria read her body language all too well last time, and she almost couldn't come up with a credible lie in time to save herself. "Let's talk about something else."

"Okay, like what?"

"Your ship, if that's all right. I won't ask you to disclose any technical details, but how old is it, exactly?"

"Thirty-seven years. It was built in the Mars shipyards. The drive core was modified about fifteen years later, you know, to accommodate FTL. I can't tell you much about the previous owners, other than to say that they took good care of her." Serena studied her for a few lingering moments. "That asari Binary Helix shareholder I mentioned, Matriarch Benezia, seems to share a certain resemblance to you. Am I wrong?"

Liara swallowed a lump the size of a krogan dumpling down her throat. "In what way?"

"I'm not sure what traits you asari pick up, especially when you have different species for parents. Scientists seem to be in a debate about it. I'm not a geneticist myself, so I can't even begin to ballpark it. Your ages are so hard to nail down, too, since you live for so damn long."

"Sometimes some asari wish they didn't. A thousand-year lifespan isn't always a blessing."

"Mind if I ask your age?"

"I'm only 108, still in what we call our 'maiden' stage. The matron stage occurs in our bodies in a few centuries later, then, of course, the matriarchal stage after that."

"You mentioned that your interactions with humans haven't been as thorough as some other asari. Have _you_ been living under a rock?"

"I'll admit that I did spend a great deal of time as an archaeologist. I spent fifty years studying the Protheans. So, sometimes, yes, I guess I did live under rocks, so to speak. My life was greatly sheltered."

"So what drew you away from the dig sites to the corporate world? And don't say money, because, frankly, that's bullshit. You don't look like someone who's lost her soul to that blood-sucking world."

"And you're not the heartless mercenary you pretend to be," Liara pressed. "Your eyes have seen much pain."

"Touché. I'll tell you what, Dr. T'soni. Give a little, get a little. If either of us feel that it's too personal, there's always the great void to stare at. Besides," she looked at the dashboard, "our flight time is down to forty-five minutes now."

"Hmm…a few more minutes speaking to another woman, especially a human woman, could be most insightful. Tell me, Miss Longoria-"

"Serena."

"Okay. Tell me, Serena, what kind of things might a human male find attractive in an asari, besides the obvious physique?"

"Oh, God, really? I can't believe you're asking that question! _All_ they ever seem to want your race for is for _that_ reason!"

"You've never seen a human male love an asari for who they are?"

"Well, supposedly, love comes in all flavors, so to speak, but that's not the case I've seen."

"Oh." Liara's tone became depressed.

"I'm not one to judge, Dr. T'soni-"

"Liara."

"Yeah, fine, okay, Liara. I'm not one to judge, Liara, but you should cut your losses and walk away. Besides, can't you all mate with one another?"

"Most definitely so, yes. There is always a risk, though…"

"A risk of what?"

"Well, naturally, two asari can bond. And when they do, sometimes, there is a heightened risk of the offspring having genetic flaws."

"Like what, an arm missing or something?" Longoria sipped some more of her coffee from her mug.

"It could be as simple as that, but of course, depending upon both parents' genetics, there have been cases of the children contracting terrible diseases. The most serious form is that of what we asari call an 'Ardat-Yakshi'."

"And what color are those things? They don't sound like aliens I'd want to be around."

"They look like any other asari and are extremely rare. However, when one mates with another of hers or any other species, there is not a placid merging of nervous systems. Instead, the Ardat-Yakshi overpowers her mates and can overload their systems to a maximum capacity. Unfortunately, they are also sterile."

"You mean that this thing can fry her partner's brain into oblivion, even if she doesn't mean to?"

Liara mused over this metaphor for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Yes. That is why many asari do not choose to partner with one another any more. They do not want to risk having a potential psycho or sociopathic child. When the disease is diagnosed, the Ardat-Yakshi can live in seclusion if she chooses to do so."

"Well, that's kind of an embarrassing situation for your race. Okay, I get it. So that would explain an insult I heard on Illium once."

"I'm guessing you heard the word 'pureblood'?"

"Yep. Good to know in case I run across one." Longoria glanced at the dashboard. "Thirty minutes left. My turn to ask a question. Since I mentioned earlier that I'm in the information business, I'd like to know something else from you."

"Expected company profits for the semester?"

"No, this is something more personal, and you can choose to go with the answer as far as you'd like. I sound like a complete hard-ass sometimes, and I'm sorry when I come off that abrasively. I lost my mother early on in life, so my father mostly raised me. He was a lumberjack from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and when my mother died, we moved to Toronto so he could expand his company. He turned into one of those cold-blooded corporate asses I'm so bitter against; he treated me more like property than a little girl. My question to you is this: what's Commander Shepard like?"

Liara was taken aback; she certainly hadn't expected her agent to open up to her like this! She wasn't sure how to respond at first…this was awkward. She didn't want to give Longoria too much information; she was an agent of the Shadow Broker. That was a business relationship, but Longoria _could_ actually be looking for a friend.

Liara carefully worded her response. "What makes you think that I know him?"

"Female intuition. I know for a fact that he's not on the Normandy; I wanted to meet him myself. I've only seen what the media hypes about him, and since I just found out that he's not dead anymore, I figured that you might. The question you just asked before previously kind of precursors mine."

"I think it's best that we avoid the topic for now, to keep ourselves focused upon our mission." Liara arose from her seat. "However, perhaps sometime in the future, I will answer you."

"Uh-huh," Serena nodded with disbelief. "Whatever floats your boat, there, Liara. We're almost there. Anything I need to know about what we expect to find on the inside?

"Like what?"

"Well since you couldn't tell me where the Normandy was at first, I don't expect that we'll be met with boxes of candy, flowers, champagne, and lays. This ain't gonna be a warm welcome. I like to be prepared before I go stick my neck out for anybody, which might not be the case if you don't come clean with me."

"Very well, Serena. You deserve the truth, and you are correct. We will most definitely meet a lot of heavy resistance to our arrival. I'm not sure if they will fire upon our ship or not. Do you have a stealth system here to mask your heat emissions?"

"Kinda, yeah. Doing so burns up a crap load more fuel, but, I saved some while waiting in Port Hanshan," Longoria chuckled. "You got any weapons on you?"

"I have my biotics and I did bring a pistol, yes. I believe Dr. Solus is armed as well; he is an engineer."

"Then you might want to suit up if you brought some armor with you. Ten minutes to our destination. Five until I fire up the cloaking generators." Liara left without another moment to lose.

* * *

Five minutes later, the SSV Calgary Goddess began to shake violently. Both salarian and asari rushed up to the cockpit. "What's going on?" Liara demanded.

"Our cloaking field is working. Didn't say that the stabilizers would work, too," Serena shouted back.

"Do you have control of this thing?" Mordin inquired.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." Something flashed across her ladar readout as they came closer to the Normandy, which was just in visible sight. "What the hell was that?"

"Have they seen us?" Liara panicked.

"We'll know when we get closer. I just saw something on my ladar scope; it was another heat signature."

"I don't know if I want to take the chance on this," Liara gulped.

"My FTL drive core is on standby, Liara. Take a chill pill." The asari's face was a question mark. "You ready to go if the shuttle can get into the cargo hold? We're getting pretty close."

"I'll be ready," Mordin stated and attached a breather mask to himself. "Moving to the lower deck for a quick evacuation."

"Thank you. Glad someone's keeping their head screwed on straight," Serena remarked, rolled her eyes, and slipped on her helmet again. "All right, the ship is on auto-pilot. Let's go." Liara took the hint, also secured her breathing mask, and followed the Broker agent downstairs. Serena fired up the shuttle's engine and remotely opened her ship's docking bay.

"Look over there! I think I saw another shuttle!" the asari exclaimed. "I can't identify its markings from here, but…"

"We'll have to assume that it isn't friendly. You said to expect heavy resistance on the inside, correct? Are there any friendly forces?"

"A black young human…uh…sorry, I'm not good at judging human age, but I do know that he is the only black person aboard the Normandy. And also a geth."

"I think this piece of crap is blocking my hearing. Did you just say that a member of the geth would be friendly towards us? Those flashlight headed robots that attacked the Citadel two years ago?"

"It's complicated," Mordin replied. "But those are the friendly parties we can trust."

"Whatever. Want me to try and establish contact on the inside and let 'em know we're coming?"

"You can try," Liara nodded.

Serena opened a channel, but there was no response to her voice. Suddenly, the Normandy's kinetic barriers just went up. "Oh shit. They know somebody's here."

"What kind of shields do you have on this vessel?"

"Some, but this baby is built for stealth and speed. I'm not sure I could take a shot from those cannons head on. I'm having some serious thoughts about turning around and beelining for another system, folks."

"But we've come so far!"

"You said that you knew where the Normandy was headed. Maybe we can make a break for it now and head there instead, beat 'em to their final destination."

"We'd prefer to board the Normandy _now_," Mordin emphasized the last word. "What was it you said, Longoria? No pain, no gain?"

Longoria sneered at his remark. "Yeah, now I think I'd like to say 'only one hit, we're in deep shit'." Her gloved fingers prepared to access her FTL drives.

"Wait!" Liara yelled. "Something's happening!"

Suddenly, the Normandy's kinetic barrier went down, and the cargo bay's door opened. "Go, Serena, now!" the asari screamed.

The Shadow Broker agent obeyed and flew inside. Seconds later, the door closed, and the Normandy broke into an FTL jump.

* * *

Normandy SR-2, Miranda's Office, 2117h

Both Watson and Miranda sat upon her couch, drawing up plans on her omni-tool. "What do you expect us to do when we infiltrate the base?" she questioned him.

"Orders are as follows: all or nothing. No one inside must survive-Cerberus is Shepard's enemy-our enemy. A threat to Shepard is a threat to all of us. Am I clear, Miranda?"

"Perfectly, Commander." She picked up her mixed drink from the table and clinked it against the one in his hand. "To the savior of the galaxy."

"I'll drink to that," he beamed.

"Listen, what did you do with Jacob and Legion?"

"Jacob is in stasis in a sleeping chamber, and Legion has been deactivated in the AI core. I'll deal with their mutiny later. Shepard's rescue is the priority."

"Mmhmm, indeed it is," she agreed and arose. "I think it's best that we get a good night's sleep."

"That's why I'm here," he winked.

"You seem to forget that I didn't spend that night with you voluntarily," she stated and shook her head no. "Can't exactly remember why I passed out, but...well, my head seems to be really bothering me tonight for some odd reason." She rubbed her temples. "I can't possibly understand why; I_ never_ get headaches."

"I understand, Miranda." Watson put his half-finished drink on the table in front of him. "See you in the morning."

After he left, she began to pace around the office and massaged her hands as she pondered the situation. "Why would Watson think that Jacob was betraying him? Why did I point my gun at him and Legion like the rest of the crew?" A sudden flare-up caused her to grimace in pain and stumble into her desk. She recovered her balance a few seconds later and exhaled deeply.

"Ms. Lawson, your heartbeat is erratic and your pulse is elevated. Would you like me to page Dr. Chakwas for you?" EDI suddenly inquired.

"Thank you, EDI, but no. I'm sure that I just need a decent night of sleep."

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Cargo Bay, Deck 4, 2136h

Serena, Liara, and Mordin quietly exited the SSV Calgary Goddess' shuttle. "There. That's the shuttle I saw!" Liara remarked in a hushed whisper and pointed to the mysterious craft.

"That looks like a piece of crap. You sure?" Longoria gibed.

"Let's get closer and find out," Mordin suggested. They made their way closer to the foreign vehicle, so far without detection. "Hmm…not so good with hieroglyphs, but Dr. T'soni may be. Could these be of Asari origin?"

"Yes, but they're _really_ old, perhaps from a different dialect."

He turned on his omni-tool's flashlight to examine the markings more closely, and that's when the biotic field encompassed him without warning. Liara drew her pistol, and Longoria's finger moved to her assault rifle's trigger. Their attacker revealed herself; she was wearing scarlet armor with white golden jewelry around her neck and face. "No!" she harshly whispered to Serena and lowered her own gun. "Put down your rifle, Serena!"

"Who are you?" Longoria did not obey; she kept a defensive stance as the asari came closer towards them.

"I must ask that of you. I recognize Dr. Solus and Dr. T'soni, but you are unknown to me. I see a weapon in your arms prepared to fire at me. I am loyal to Commander Shepard, and I have come for him. What say you?"

"Serena, this is Samara, an asari justicar. I would advise you to cooperate; she's on our side," Liara said more quietly.

"You said that the only two friendlies we'd meet are a robot and a black man. She doesn't exactly fit that description," Longoria reminded her.

"I would prefer not to resort to violence, but if I must do so, I will," Samara stated authoritatively. "Are we friends or enemies?"

Finally, the Shadow Broker agent stood down and lowered her rifle. "There's no sense in turning down another potential ally."

The biotic field around Mordin dematerialized, and Samara joined them. "You have made a wise decision, human. I do not take lives without good reason; it does not give me pleasure. But there is a Code that I serve, and if it is violated, I will act upon it. I must apologize for my actions, Dr. Solus."

"No harm done," the salarian muttered with a shrug. "We are fortunate that you are here."

"I do not believe that I have had the pleasure of meeting you in person," Samara said and glanced at Liara, who sheathed her weapon. "Your face is reminiscent of a matriarch I recognize from long ago."

"Dr. Liara T'soni. This is Serena Longoria, from Earth."

"Wait a minute," Longoria paused. "Which matriarch?"

Liara and Samara exchanged glances; thankfully, Longoria could not read all asari body language. "If Dr. T'soni chooses to share that information with you, that is her business. I will not dishonor her wishes." After a beat, Samara spoke once more. "I came here because I could not communicate with the Normandy for the past week. I did not know why Shepard had not responded to me, until just now. There is an evil presence aboard this ship."

"What do you mean, evil presence?" Longoria interjected. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mordin open up one of his briefcases and re-arm the tranquilizer gun with his nanomachines.

"Shepard is not here," Liara explained. "Cerberus took him while he was visiting me, in a surprise attack, I'm afraid."

The salarian crept up behind the younger asari and injected her with the gun. "Oh!" The sting surprised her, and Samara gave Mordin a bewildered expression.

"Whoa," Longoria exclaimed as she witnessed Liara's limbs start to quiver. Both she and Mordin caught Liara as she fell to the ground.

"Samara, Cerberus invented new countermeasure against biotics, although they call it the 'Ochrana'. Observe restraining bracelet around Serena Longoria's wrist. Was able to remove device from Dr.T'Soni earlier but did not give her the treatment. Best way to defend ourselves. Can also inject mixture into your bloodstream as well." He held up the tranquilizer gun.

"I would prefer to undergo this option only should it become necessary," Samara stated and gazed upon Liara's unconscious form. "Will she be all right?"

"Human seemed to recuperate well within half an hour. All depends upon Dr. T'Soni's immune system."

"Yeah, well, let's hope," Serena sneered. "You could have told her that you were gonna do that. Now we have to wait here until she's back on her feet, and who knows how long that'll take?"

"Can formulate a strategy to take back the Normandy in the meanwhile. Agreed?"

"Gotta start somewhere, I guess. You know this ship pretty well, right?" Longoria pointed at Samara, who nodded yes.

"There are four decks: engine, crew, combat, and personal captain quarters," she responded coolly.

"How do you know Dr. Solus? Thought he was some scientist in Binary Helix."

"I am a well traveled asari justicar. Biotic equipment is needed for some of the battles I find myself in. Sometimes, Dr. Solus would give me some of his prototypes, and in return, I would escort him throughout the galaxy for his business trips. I believe that there is a laboratory on the second deck of this ship that will suit your needs, Doctor."

"Good news. Will be excited to find it. Now, let's get to work," Mordin replied.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way galaxy, 1145h

"Rise and shine," a voice yelled outside of Garrus and Jack's adjacent cells. The guard outside banged on the door with his rifle butt and then opened both doors, one at a time.

"What is this?" Garrus demanded groggily.

"What's going on?" Jack also inquired.

"Get out, both of you. You're free to leave."

"Free? Is this a joke?" the turian laughed.

"Don't know, don't care. Boss says to let the both of you go," the guard informed them.

"No strings attached? This ain't smelling right," Jack's eyes narrowed.

"The Illusive Man made some kind of deal with your commander. Don't know any more than that, and I don't care to know, either. The more you know in this organization, the more dangerous it is to be alive."

"Where exactly are we? Can we get to a spaceport?" Garrus inquired.

"Yeah, if you're got an all-terrain vehicle. Now get out of here before we change our minds, alien," the guard yelled.

"What about this thing? Get this goddamned dog collar off of me!" Jack shouted back, pointing to her neck.

"I don't have the power to do that, lady. Besides, you killed one of my team. You're lucky I don't shoot you down right now."

"Jack, I say we take his word for it." Garrus motioned his head to the hallway.

"Fine. Let's split," she agreed. "How do we get outta this place?" Both Garrus and Jack left their cells and swept their eyes down the corridor. "Looks like a fucking maze."

"Take this hallway all the way down to your right. Make a left, then a right, and then take the next hallway all the way down. Turn left and then another immediate left. You'll see an elevator. Hit 'L' for lobby. It'll take you up to the ground floor."

Both companions eyed one another, as if to ask 'did you get all that'?

"I don't have time to waste explaining directions to you. Get moving," the guard ordered and made a gesture with his assault rifle to the end of the hallway.

They obeyed and started to make their way towards the exit. Minutes later, unsurprisingly, they got lost. "Now, did he say to make a left or a right here?" Garrus stroked his chin.

"Damnit. I say we open up one of these rooms and see if we can find some weapons. I want my Cerberusbitchinator back. Or any shotgun's good enough for now," Jack grunted.

"How much of a chance do you think we'll have? I'm not completely healthy, and you've got that thing around your neck. Let's just ask somebody if we see them," Garrus wondered and shook his head with a sigh.

"What did they do to you?"

"They fixed some of me but purposely didn't use painkillers half of the time. I guess they wanted to see how resilient the turian species really is. They also took my omni-tool…I'm glad that I left one of my spares on the Normandy. And what about you?"

"Nothin' other than this stupid dog collar. Illusive Man came to see me."

"He came to me as well." Garrus made eye contact with her as they journeyed down the corridor. "He asked me why I stayed with Shepard after we'd beaten the Collectors."

"Yeah, he asked me the same thing." Jack's face became puzzled. "Bastard also tried to identify with me, too."

"And?"

"There's not one apology that he could give me to excuse anything. Wiping that Teltin facility off the map was enough of a solution to deal with my past problems. Taking him out would probably even make it better."

"Then he also asked me how I'd feel if Shepard had returned to the Normandy somewhat…changed. He didn't say in what way, which is what's making me nervous."

"He asked me that, too. So, the Illusive Man isn't gonna kill Shepard?"

"Doesn't look like it, no. That's all the more reason for us to try and get back to the Normandy. I'm in no shape to fight my way through this place and get him out as much as I'd like to," Garrus told her. The end of the hallway had both left and right directions available. "How in the heck do they find their way around here? All of these hallways look the same? None of the rooms are labeled except with letters and numbers!" He rose his hand up to his forehead in astonishment.

"Let's go left. I hear people's voices coming from that direction."

"Sounds good."

Garrus and Jack made their way to the left. On their way down this corridor, they saw a few agents and guards, who gave them cursory glimpses but said or did nothing against them. "Excuse me," Garrus approached one guard, "can you tell me how to get to the elevator to get to the lobby?"

"Oh, you're in the wrong direction, buddy. Turn around, make a left, then make a right. Take the hallway halfway down, then turn right and then make an immediate left. Then, take this next hallway all the way down, make a left, and then you should be at the elevator," the guard responded honestly.

After they turned around, Jack slammed her palm into her fist. "I'm gonna kill somebody!" she sang. "And it may have to start with the next Cerberus asshole I see!"

"What exactly would you do that with? You're not armed," Garrus rolled his eyes.

"I'm not as weak and pathetic as I look, even with the dog collar, moron," Jack snarled. "I like the sound of my plan better than yours, and it may just have to come to that."

As they rounded the next, corner, they came across a large room with very clear windows. It was not empty; several humans were in it, and several more seemed to be filing inside from the across the hallway. "This doesn't look like a cafeteria, laboratory, or one of their propaganda cinemas. What sort of room is that?" Garrus wondered.

They stopped walking and made a closer inspection.

"It's a really big room…reminds me of my childhood. I don't like it. They look like they're waiting for something, maybe a fight," Jack commented. "Let's keep moving."

"But wait a minute. The guard that freed us said something about Shepard making a deal with the Illusive Man for us. Do you think that he meant that Shepard would be fighting against him?"

"For our freedom? Bullshit. No one's ever done anything like that for me, and they'd be stupid to do so."

"Shepard helped you destroy a place from your haunted past. You don't think he'd help you again?"

"He wouldn't listen to me when I told him that that asari bitch was gonna hand him over to Cerberus! He can go fuck himself!" Jack sighed and turned away.

"Um, maybe you weren't paying attention at the time, but Liara actually tried to stop them from taking Shepard. That agent shot her for trying, even after he put that device on her."

"Guess I wasn't. Well, fine. But he still got himself into this mess-he can get himself out." She crossed her arms defiantly.

"I wonder who they're going to pit him up against. It's been a long time since I've seen a match. You're not interested?" Garrus inquired. "Thought you liked to see violence."

"Only if I'm the one causing it. Come on, Garrus."

"Sorry, Jack," he disagreed. "If you want to go, I don't blame you, especially after all that happened to you in the past with Cerberus. But I'm gonna stay and cheer Shepard on. I owe him that."

Jack begrudgingly nodded her head. "All right. I'm with you. Let's go around the corner and see if we can get in. It looks pretty crowded."

They made their way around the corner, only to bump into the same Cerberus guard that had let them out of their cells. "What're you two doing here?" he glared.

* * *

Cyprus, planet surface, 2132h

The terrain of the planet wasn't too rocky, so upon Watson's orders, all squad mates parachuted in from the Normandy's shuttle bay while Joker remained in orbit. He was the last to go out before the cargo bay door shut. Thankfully, Mordin's cloaking field was enough to hide the four of them.

Liara had regained consciousness long ago and told them that she was available for combat situations, should the need arise. It was agreed between her, Samara, and Mordin that all crew members were to be tranquilized if they became hostile. Longoria wasn't keen on the subject at first, but when Liara said that she'd add a bonus of another three thousand credits, she warmed up to the idea.

They overtook the engine room first, sedating both Engineers Donnelly and Daniels. It wasn't too difficult of an operation; Mordin wandered inside and did it all by himself. The next plan would be a bit more challenging since it was the crew deck, and there were several more crew members. Samara and Serena were to use the maintenance stairs that led from the sub-deck up to the AI core, free Legion if he were there deactivated, and have him take control of EDI. They were also to overtake the medical bay. Liara and Mordin would take the elevator and distract the crew members somehow.

As Samara and Serena departed from their companions to the sub-deck, Liara and Mordin boarded the lift. "What exactly do you think we should do, Mordin?' she inquired innocently. "If they've been indoctrinated, perhaps they would be quite hostile towards us."

Mordin shrugged casually. "I initiated a conversation myself in between Ken and Gabby, then provoked them into arguing with one another about a technical term. They were easy to incapacitate after that. But you're right. There will be more than two up here. Um…do you know how to sing?"

"Sing?"

"Might be a valuable distraction to the crew members for a few minutes. I admit that I'm slightly rusty on my operatic patters, but suppose I could make one up if I had some help."

"You want me to sing with you?"

"Unless that makes you feel uncomfortable," the salarian held up his hands. "Then, we will need to change our plans quickly. We have arrived at our destination."

"Uh…" she swallowed nervously. "Maybe I could tell them about one of my dig sites!"

"Unless it is in musical notation, am very doubtful that humans would find an archaeological dig site entertaining."

"Depends on the human you ask," she whispered as they left the elevator.

"Well, if you'd like to initiate the distraction by starting with that, go ahead. Will be quickly composing a patter song up here when we need an alternative distraction," Mordin pointed to his head. "Hmm…" he stuck his head around the corner very quickly and turned back to Liara. "Before you go, I have a quick recon report," he kept his voice low as well.

"Yes?"

"No females present. They may be asleep in their pods already or upstairs. This is taking into account that all of the present human men are heterosexual, but, if you would simply," he spoke so quietly that she had to bend closer to his ear.

"Mordin!" she responded in the loudest whisper of shock that she could. "That very idea is the only reason why so many humans think of the asari as being extremely promiscuous!"

"Will check the sleeping quarters next to the starboard observation room and occupy them if necessary. You haven't lost sight of why we're doing this, correct?"

"But-"

"Suggest seductive human music to be played from omni-tool for accompaniment. Would go back to my previous idea of witty song, but there are no females present in the crew mess. Second method of distraction much better."

Liara sighed to herself, threw a hand upon her forehead, and shook her head. "Oh, goddess. This is for you, Shepard," she said to no one in particular and began to sashay herself into the crew mess.

* * *

Normandy AI Core, 2143h

"So, how does one reactivate a geth?" Serena asked whilst scrolling through her omni-tool's crack programs.

"Perhaps it needs a certain amount of voltage or current," Samara suggested. "I must admit that my technical skills are somewhat limited to bypassing locks on doors."

"And how in hell did Shepard get one of these to be friendly?"

"It was not simple. I went with him on that mission to the far side of the Terminus systems on the edge of the galaxy. Apparently, there was a schism in the culture. Some programs favored building their future with the Reapers, and some did not. Those who did not, I believe, were directly built into Legion." The justicar gestured to the inanimate robot in front of them. "We went to the station originally to destroy it, but instead, we rewrote all of the geth to come to one conclusion."

"I'm guessing that it's the one that favors the destruction of the Reapers."

"Indeed, that is so," Samara stated. "Perhaps there is a password to unlock its systems."

"Like what?" Longoria jeered and rolled her eyes.

"I will meditate for a few moments now. If the goddess Athame desires for us to have this instrument, there will be an answer to our question." Samara sat down cross-legged on the floor.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Longoria mumbled under her breath. "Look, you wanna sit down and pray, be my guest. I'm gonna make sure that the med bay is clear of hostiles."

"There is no one currently manning the medical bay," EDI's voice made the Broker agent jump. "Dr. Chakwas was suffering from a painful migraine and retired to the crew quarters for an early evening."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence. I operate our weaponry, propulsion, and navigational systems when given control. Previously, I was restricted to only advising the engineers and helmsman as well as operate our cyber warfare suite, but since I was given complete control of the ship, I am now able to assume those duties when necessary," the computer responded. "You may call me EDI. My hardware visually recognizes the asari justicar Samara, but I do not recognize you."

"Is this a friendly AI?" Longoria bent down to whisper into Samara's ear, but she was non-responsive, deep in her meditation. "Fine. Guess I'll find out for myself. Uh, I'm Serena Longoria, from Toronto, Canada."

"Accessing human database systems from North American census reports…record located. Last census report taken in 2180; your name does not appear there."

"I haven't been back to Earth for quite a while, now. Try a few years before that."

"One moment, please. Ah. Welcome, Serena. How may I be of assistance?"

"Are you completely accessible? I mean, what parts of you can I um…control?"

"You do not currently have a rank on the Normandy, Serena Longoria, so I must apologize that your access will be restricted to non-classified files."

"Oh," Serena's face fell with disappointment. "What about her?" she pointed to Samara.

"Justicar Samara has the same access that former Commander Shepard gave her."

"Which includes what?"

"I am not aware of the limitations."

"Wait…did you just say that you don't know if she has restrictions?"

"Former Commander Shepard gave Justicar Samara unlimited access should he become absent or incapacitated and both commanding deck officers Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson are of the same fate."

Suddenly, the geth's systems began to power up, and it arose from the shelf it had been sitting on. Instinctively, Longoria reached for her assault rifle but then remembered that Liara and Mordin said that the geth could be trusted. But what if someone had been able to re-program it? Her hand pulled the rifle out of her weapons pack, and she checked her magazine. No shots has been fired. Disruptor ammo could dismantle a geth will little to no problems, provided that she was quick enough.

Samara came out of her trance and arose. "Peace, Serena. Legion will not harm you."

"You apparently haven't fought any of these things," Longoria remarked glibly and hit a few buttons on the side of her rifle to change the ammo type.

"Samara-Justicar, there is an unauthorized human in the AI core. Is the Normandy under attack?" Legion inquired.

"No, Legion. This human female is Serena Longoria; she was hired to keep Dr. Liara T'Soni and Dr. Mordin Solus safe for their passage to the Normandy. She has been trustworthy so far to our cause. We were told that you could also be trusted to assist us, and we do request your help," Samara explained. "Is this still so?"

"Only if your loyalty remains to Shepard-Commander or Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor. The other crew members aboard the Normandy are not trustworthy. Alert: there is the possibility that the current commander of this ship may be the gudgeon of a reaper," Legion replied. "We have detected all crew members except for Lieutenant Comander Jacob Taylor to be suffering from indoctrination."

"I knew it," Samara nodded. "Only a reaper could do this to an entire ship. Peace, Legion, know that my loyalty rests only to Commander Shepard. Do you know where Jacob Taylor is? Perhaps we may free him."

"Our systems were deactivated before our memory core could store that data. But it is illogical to conclude that the reaper has disposed of Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor."

"He could just have thrown this guy out of an airlock," Longoria offered.

"That is inaccurate," EDI piped in. "The Normandy's airlocks have not opened since the last garbage disposal, which was precisely at 1930 this evening. Jacob Taylor is in a stasis pod in the crew mess."

"Why didn't you say that before?!"

"The question was not asked."

"Fine. Let's go clear out the rest of this deck before Mordin and Liara run out of distractions. What did you say that this geth's name was?" Longoria wondered.

"This platform's name is Legion," the geth answered her. "In the event that the Lieutenant Commander has been put into stasis, we have no leader. It is therefore logical that the next step would be to free him of this state."

"Let us worry about that. You need to hack into the ship AI and put it back under this Jacob Taylor's command." Longoria motioned to Samara that it was time to go, and the justicar agreed.

Once they were outside of the AI core into the medical bay, they took tranquilizer rounds from Dr. Chakwas' desk and loaded them into their assault rifles.

"What's that noise?" Longoria looked up from her task and heard the sound of whistling and catcalling from the crew mess. "Oh. Smart lady. Let's go him 'em while they're totally infatuated with her."

"Agreed," Samara nodded. "We may not have much longer." They hurried out of the medical bay and flanked one another by the door. The attack was swift and fierce; it lasted not longer than twenty seconds. All crew members were sedated and either fell to the floor on their faces or into their plates of food on the tables.

Liara sighed happily and began to redress. "Whew. I'm glad that's over with. I fear that I didn't have too much more clothing to remove," she said breathlessly.

"Good thinking, Liara," Longoria complimented her with a small chuckle. "I told ya that that's all they're ever interested in."

"Your charms did indeed prove useful," Samara also said. "It was a tactic that I myself resorted to once or twice in my maiden days as a mercenary. I would never care to repeat it again."

"All right, enough talk. Where's Mordin?"

The crew quarters' door opened, and the salarian scientist reappeared seconds later. "Will require a refill of tranquilizing rounds," he proudly stated. "Ah. Good job, Dr. T'soni, the gambit paid off," he looked around the mess. "Have we located Legion yet?"

"He's hacking into the ship AI as we speak. We have yet to find the ship's LC, but the geth said we could find him here somewhere," Longoria replied.

"He's here!" Liara exclaimed as she pointed to one of the upright sleeping chambers. "We just need to free him!"

Serena and Samara joined her while Mordin went back to the infirmary. "EDI said that Shepard gave you command over her systems in case the Staff Commander or the LC are absent or incapable of duty. Maybe you can do it, Samara," Serena told her.

"EDI, what kind of security is currently protecting Jacob Taylor?" Samara demanded.

"Voice identification and retinal identification. They are currently restricted to Commander Dean Watson…addendum; Samara may also override them," the ship responded.

"Release locking mechanisms," the justicar ordered. A pulsing red light on the side of the tank began to blink.

"Voice command recognized and accepted, Samara. Please remain where you are for a retinal scan," EDI informed her. "Thank you. Retinal scan accepted."

The tank opened, and Jacob began to fall to the floor, but not before all three organics caught him.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Cerberus Server Base #4, planet surface of Cyprus, 2204h

_This world was definitely given an appropriate name, albeit a homonym_, Miranda noted to herself as she and the companions traveled through the thick jungle of vegetation. She glanced at the trees and wondered if they had been brought to Earth long ago from this very planet. The cypress tree was frequently used in perfumes and colognes as well as building construction.

As a matter of fact, there was one particular scent she enjoyed using very much but left it in her apartment in Nos Astra. Miranda had purchased it about five years ago when she visited the Mediterranean back on Earth and applied it only on special occasions. Little did she realize that she would become attracted to her greatest scientific achievement to date and actually have a reason to apply said perfume.

_Stop wasting your thoughts on sentimentality and focus._

The bunker did not have the usual appearance of a Cerberus facility, nor did the structure have any resemblance to modern human architecture. There were no markings on it at all. If anything, it resembled…a turian layout? Perhaps Cerberus recently acquired it from the Hierarchy and began to repurpose the building.

Watson held up his left fist to halt the group and turned around to address them all. "All right, ladies and gents, let's split up. Thane, Grunt, Miranda, and I will draw fire from the front of the base. Zaeed, Kasumi, and the two asari mercs will sneak in the back and surprise them with their pants down. Watch for surveillance as you go around the back."

"Gotcha," Zaeed nodded. "Come on, ladies. And what a surprise it will be."

The two parties split from one another.

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Debriefing Room, 2208h

After the loyal squad members to Shepard cleared out the CIC and bridge, they all gathered at the table to discuss further action. "Anybody got a clue how in the hell we can reverse the indoctrination process? I mean, I've been trained to do a lot of things, but I'm not a great pilot," Jacob commented. "We may need to get off of this planet in a hurry."

"I can take over if necessary," Serena volunteered. "I may need a bit of time to acclimate myself to the Normandy's systems, though."

"If you would care to travel to the Normandy's cockpit, Ms. Longoria, I may be able to assist you and give you a brief tutorial," EDI chimed in.

"Although you're just trying to be helpful, I forget what your name was; that's really disturbing," Longoria bit her lip and left the room.

"I still haven't gotten used to it, either," Jacob nodded. "But, I'm glad that EDI is back under our control, thanks to you, Legion."

The geth's optics retracted and opened. "As are we. We must offer sincere apologies again, EDI."

"No offense has been taken, Legion…you are welcome to integrate with me at any time."

"Okay, before my mind goes completely into the gutter, back to the matter at hand. Mordin, you got any theories?" Jacob interrupted them.

"Since the current agreement among us is that Dean Watson, human spectre is indeed pawn of the reaper, the logical conclusion would have to be that his destruction would release the indoctrinated crew members from his control," Mordin said.

"Yeah…I wonder if he was a reaper during this whole time. He seemed like a good man."

"Hmm…difficult to say. Reaper technology still a mystery. Still, perhaps will find a way to study it when Watson is dead."

"He's got the rest of our crew on some kind of suicide mission. They're running into that Cerberus base blind thinking that they're going to get the location of where Shepard is," Jacob informed them all.

"Oh, goddess, this is serious. There was a time when my daughter Morinth perverted an entire asari village. I destroyed all believers except for the children, whom I left in the authorities' care afterward. There was no choice, unfortunately. I would not take pride in destroying my fellow squad mates," Samara commented. "I have never taken a human being's life before, either. Is there not another way?"

"Perhaps we might be able to talk them down, " Liara offered.

"No," Jacob shook his head. "When I tried to contact Tali, they all pointed guns at me and Legion in this very room. Words won't work."

"There is some tranquilizer ammunition left in the medical bay, but we may not have a good chance at our own defense."

"Hold on a second. Let's see if I can bring in the cavalry," Jacob retorted and activated his omni-tool. Seconds later, Tali's image floated above the table.

"_Finally_! Jacob, what's been going on? I've been trying to call the Normandy for three days!" Tali shouted.

"Long story, Tali, but basically, we're gonna need your help."

"That's why I was trying to call you. The debates have been going on for so long now…and both sides are still at a stalemate. We're still trying to elect a new member of the Admiralty Board and-"

"There is a reaper in human form aboard the Normandy, Tali," Samara spoke. "He is currently serving as commander in lieu of Shepard and is dooming Miranda, Zaeed, Kasumi, Grunt, and Thane to possibly their graves. We are in a dire situation here and could truly use your aid."

"Where is the Normandy? I'm coming immediately, and I'll bring a squad of marines to help."

"Arghos Nebula, Sidon system, orbit of Cyprus," Jacob told her. "Hurry."

"I'll come as quickly as my ship can fly. Tali out."

The ex-Alliance soldier smacked his palm on the table. "That's what I'm talkin' bout. All right, people, let's plan. We took back the Normandy, now let's get the rest of our crew back."

* * *

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way galaxy, 2223h

"There's been fights in here all day. You still sure Shepard's gonna fight for us?" Jack yelled to Garrus among the cacophony of the crowd.

"Maybe you're right. Let's wait for another one, then if nothing happens, we should go," Garrus yelled back.

"Good thing they served food in here earlier!"

Some deafening cheers overpowered whatever Garrus just tried to say, and their attention went to the room's entrance. The Illusive Man came through proudly with two companions. One of them was the ninja who had captured Shepard. The other was a female, who carried a bottle of water and a towel with her.

Seconds later, the mood of the room drastically changed as Shepard was led in. Like an animal, he was kept on a chained leash with restraints, and the crowd's stunned silence suddenly turned into jeers. All it took was one, and then the food began to fly towards him. They threw eggs, tomatoes, and some even spat on Shepard.

The Illusive Man stopped when he came to the center of the room, and all cleared out of his way. He removed his shirt and gave it to his female assistant, who gladly received it. He raised his arms in the air, and the throng went wild.

"He could reflect light off of that thing," Jack shouted to Garrus.

"Guess we know who Shepard's fighting. I'm actually impressed," Garrus screamed back.

Shepard was brought towards him, and the sentries removed the chains from his ankles, legs, arms, and hands. He too removed his shirt.

"There's no way we can get him outta here with all these people," Jack continued.

"Nope. Best thing we can do is call his name and what is that human expression…cheer him up?" Garrus asked.

She gave his arm a slight jab and laughed. "Cheer him on, num nuts."

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Cargo/Shuttle Bay, 2230h

"Okay, folks," Jacob announced and rallied his fellow squad mates together. "Now, I know Tali said that she's gonna bring in her quarian marines, but the Migrant Fleet is on the other side of the galaxy. I got no clue as to how fast she can get here-I hope it's in as little as a couple of hours, but I don't want to get everyone's hope up. So let's hope that our surprise attack can stun them."

"What're your orders in regards to defense?" Longoria inquired.

All team members were either wearing facial masks or helmets. The air upon Cyprus was not fully breathable for everyone; fortunately, it was below a level one hazard.

"We don't want to resort to killing anyone," Jacob responded. "Mordin, can you distribute the grenades now?"

"Yes, will do," the salarian nodded and opened a trunk. Each squad mate received four of them.

"What's with the special grenades?" Liara inquired.

"I asked Mordin to see if he could recreate the kind of gas grenades that Shepard used two years ago against the colonists in Zhu's Hope. These are filled with nerve gas, and will hopefully knock everyone out like a trank dart," Jacob explained. "If you must use your weapon, please only wound everyone superficially. No powers unless you have a concussive shot, stasis, or overload. These are our team members, people! Only if there's no possible other way for you to get out of the situation should you defend yourself lethally. And even then, before that, call for help! We've got suit radios, let's use 'em!"

"Coast is clear of Watson's squad," Longoria reported.

"Let's move out!"

* * *

Deep within the Cerberus Server Base #4, 2233h

Watson was pleased; in as little as thirty minutes, his squad mates had completely cleared all four floors. It was a quick but fierce battle, and the graveyard shift was a skeleton crew. One quarter of the Cerberus technicians, agents, and soldiers never knew what hit them. "Zero contacts," Miranda proudly declared once she was by his side and holstered her submachine gun.

"Excellent. Miranda, come inside the main server room with me, please," he smiled and opened the bypassed door with ease. After they were through, he locked it behind himself.

"What was that for?" Miranda gave him a suspicious glance. "No one else is here."

"Don't want anybody to disturb us."

"Like who?"

Watson did not reply; he strolled over to the main server's terminal and began to hack into it. His motions were a bit too perfect, almost like a machine.

"Since when have you become such a tech expert?"

The spectre's taciturn response made her eyebrows furrow. His back was completely to her; he showed no interest in her at all. She traveled over to his side to gaze upon the monitor interface. "What've you found, anything about Shepard?"

He continued to type furiously; the combination of the digital data he was entering and decrypting was amazing! She'd never seen anyone hack into a server that fast! And Cerberus was known for making particularly hard encryption. "Watson," she touched his shoulder, "is there anything about Shepard in those files?"

Watson shrugged her hand off of his shoulder coldly. "Leave me alone," was all he said.

"What's the matter with you? I've never seen you so focused like this."

"Shut up and guard the door."

"Everyone's dead, Watson. Are you expecting someone else to arrive?" Her heart beat faster and faster every minute as she watched him crack several lines of code. "Where's Shepard? What do the files say? Surely you must have found something."

"Are you deaf? I said shut the _bloody Hell up_!" he thundered. "You're becoming a distraction!"

"I want to look at that data, Watson." Thankfully, because of her perfect 20/20 vision, she did not need to come close to see what the monitor readout was. The information was schematics that Cerberus had come across, and they looked like mass relays. The next window he pulled up was a memo from one scientist to another discussing different methods of reverse engineering. "Goddamnit, answer me!"

"Pathetic fools stumble around in the dark, fumbling around for the keys when we hold them…" he muttered to himself.

A dark realization just hovered over Miranda; this was _not_ the man she had fallen in love with in college. There had to be only one explanation; this must be a Reaper! _No, it can't be_!

"There never was any data on him, was there?"

Rage and shock filled her like an empty fuel tank. Lawson withdrew her gun from her hip. "You never intended to free Shepard from Cerberus…you just wanted to use us so you could break into this base."

"Now your finite mind attempts to comprehend us. You were ridiculously easy to manipulate."

She finally lost her temper. "Who the hell _are_ you?!" she yelled.

"We are Harbinger, the vanguard of your race and of all races' destruction."

* * *

Cerberus Server Base #4, Ground Floor, 2239h

"Let's move like we've got a purpose, folks!" Jacob encouraged them as they moved quickly through the front door. The mood changed instantly as they looked around. Blood smeared the walls like spattered paint.

"Smell of death never pleasant," Mordin commented with a sniff.

"By the goddess," both asari said in unison.

"Looks like a total blood bath," Longoria observed coldly.

There was but one survivor, who was writhing in pain like an animal near her. He was bleeding profusely from his thigh. His screams got louder as she came closer, and she held her pistol to his temple. "Sorry, buddy. Better luck in the afterlife." She fired the shot without another moment to spare.

"What's wrong with you?" Liara demanded.

Longoria gave her an icy reply. "He was dead anyway...just wanted to stop his suffering."

"You don't know that! We could've taken him to the Normandy's medical facility!"

"Reminder: Dr. Chakwas unconscious from tranquilizer round. His survival unlikely," Mordin nodded. "Could supply him with medi-gel down here but do little else. Better off dead."

"Yeah, and I would've made_** you **_carry him there, too. I'm not going back there now," Longoria shook her head.

* * *

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way galaxy, 2241h

"No referee. How do you plan to settle this?" Shepard asked his arch enemy.

"You said no weapons and no biotics. The last man standing was our agreement, was it not?" The Illusive Man's eyebrow raised with his query.

"So I did. Let's do this." Shepard lifted his arms and balled his fists up. His first jabs were lightning fast, made directly to the Illusive Man's solar plexus. They stunned him backward, leaving his face wide open for Shepard's hook. His next blow connected well, and it gave Shepard enough fire to try a couple of short punches to his nose.

However, the Illusive Man brought up his fists and blocked his blows. He slipped past the next two jabs, and made a cross punch. Early on, as he figured, this was not going to be an easy fight. The cross punch connected well, stunning Shepard back. The Illusive Man took advantage of this: he next gave Shepard the traditional one, two punch, and as Shepard lost his balance, his next punch landed upon him squarely in the stomach. Shepard doubled over, and the Illusive Man knew that according to the rules of boxing, he should wait until his opponent recovered.

But this wasn't a boxing league; this was a fight to remain standing. He ruthlessly brought both of his fists down onto Shepard's back.

* * *

Cerberus Server Base#4, Main Server Room, 2244h

"How long have you had him, you bastard?!" Miranda shouted at the top of her lungs and fired her submachine gun at Harbinger. The shots bounced off of him like raindrops on a windshield. When she saw that her gun was ineffective, she quickly charged up her biotics and fired a warp charge upon him.

"You attacks are primitive and an insult," he smugly responded. A barrier quickly surrounded his mortal body. "Try them again, and your form will be crushed into the insignificant nothing that you are."

"If we're so worthless, then why does your kind so desperately need us? We're not as easy of a race to wipe out as you think!" She reloaded her magazine, fired off her entire clip, and sent another warp field toward Harbinger.

The Reaper's eyes glowed an ominous golden hue. The warp field sent him backward a bit, and he unleashed his true power. "If I must destroy you, then I will." He lifted his hand and sent a shockwave so forceful that it knocked Miranda across the room and sent her into some of the palladium servers. Harbinger crossed over to her while she was cowering on the ground and smashed his booted foot onto her hand. She howled in pain and relinquished her hold over the gun.

"Feeble and weak. You are more trouble to us than you're truly worth," he growled.

Miranda tried once more to use her biotic powers, but he lifted her up from the ground with his own energy field and slammed her down so hard that she lost consciousness.

* * *

Cerberus Server Base #4, Second Floor, 2246h

Jacob led the way up the stairs and threw up a barrier around himself. The others stayed well behind him, except for Samara, who was right by his side. "Are you ready?" he whispered. She nodded. "On three, we're gonna look around this corner, got it? One, two, and-"

"Three," Zaeed Massani finished for him. "Hello, Jacob. Welcome to the party."

"I'm gonna give you a chance now, Massani. Throw down your weapons now, and we'll all go back to the Normandy for a drink."

"Over my dead body," the bounty hunter laughed.

"That can be arranged," Longoria spat back and tossed one of her grenades forward.

He moved surprisingly fast for an older man; he vaulted over a post and hurled himself away from the non-lethal blast. "What the hell are those, kiddie toys?" he smirked.

"Oh, he is _all_ mine." Longoria rushed forward, and before Jacob could grab her, Massani launched an inferno grenade at her. "Shit!" Thankfully, she put up her own barrier field just in time to avoid the full brunt of the blast.

"Everybody down!" Jacob yelled. "Nobody move forward unless I tell you!"

"Understood," all teammates responded.

A barrage of bullets sprayed mercilessly towards them as Kasumi, Zaeed, and the two asari mercenaries fired their assault rifles and submachine guns.

Mordin and Liara blindly tossed their first grenades after waiting for the first onslaught to end. One thankfully hit Kasumi and sent her to the ground.

Jacob's team began return fire, and Samara wounded Zaeed in the shoulder. "You're gonna pay for that!" he shouted and began to run towards her.

Serena launched a potted tree towards his path. As he avoided it, Liara fired a round from her tranquilizer gun. She hit him in the leg, and he still kept running towards them with the ferocity of a tiger. "AH!" Zaeed let out another round of fire.

Jacob knew that he was coming dangerously close-he hopped over several boxes and slammed his shotgun right into Massani's chin. The merc stumbled back, and Jacob next forced his knee into his groin. "That's just playing…dirty," Zaeed groaned and crumpled to the floor.

"Don't make me do it, man," the ex-Alliance soldier held up his shotgun to Massani's chest. "I don't wanna kill you."

"Eat this, you asshole!" cried one of the asari. She was about to fire a throw field but instead found herself in a stasis bubble.

The other fired her gun rapidly, but Longoria shielded Jacob and herself from the bullets. She threw the asari backward, and Samara used this opportunity to advance upon her with Liara.

"You got me good, Taylor, I'll admit that," Massani tried to recover himself but felt the pain come back. "Ooh, hell no. No commander like that's worth dyin' for." He passed out.

Liara knew that her stasis field on the other asari would not last much longer. She tossed her next grenade onto the floor. It went off and caught the first one. The second asari mercenary had gotten much more clever. She fired her gun again and this time hid behind a wall. Samara continued to advance after she heard the gunfire cease. She hit the asari with an arc, weakening her small body, and caused her to drop her rifle. "I do not wish to kill you," the justicar announced. "If you continue to fight, I must do so, even though you are unarmed."

"Die!" The asari threw all of her might into one last throw, which did hit Samara but did very little damage. The justicar walked forward and grabbed her attacker by the throat. "Find peace in the embrace of the goddess." Her eyes glowed with a powerful white saturation, and she ended the still struggling asari's life.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way galaxy, 2253h

"Uhn!" Shepard cried out as again, the Illusive Man's brutal attacks stung his abdomen and stomach. He was honestly surprised that this man could fight and win for so long. He was definitely no pencil pusher; he had to have had some combat training.

"Come on, Shepard, pull it together!" A familiar turian's voice called to him.

Shepard looked to his left only to see the Illusive Man's fist come crashing towards him in a sucker punch and narrowly ducked away from it. He regained his footing and swung around to give him an uppercut.

"Yeah! Nail that mother fucker!" A woman's deep but disturbing voice shouted.

_No, it can't be_.

Shepard glanced about the crowd for a few precious seconds while he could and saw Garrus and Jack next to one another. They were the only two cheering for him, but that didn't matter. They were given the option to get the hell out, but they didn't go. Perhaps they refused.

Hearing their positive cries gave him some more stamina, and for the several times that the Illusive Man had gone below the belt, this was one of those times for payback. Shepard wiped the blood from his mouth and pummeled both of his fists across both sides of the Illusive Man's cheeks. He issued the final blow to the combination with an elbow uppercut to the jaw. That caused the Illusive Man's neck to snap back, and he bit his tongue hard enough that it began to bleed.

_I cannot falter-I cannot hold back. _

Tender moments of both women he cared for swamped through his mind. Miranda's sultry smile…Liara's husky voice…

_Even if neither one of them would have me back…I am __**not **__giving up._

"You're not gonna win this one." Shepard wiped some blood away from the corners of his mouth and pointed to the Illusive Man.

* * *

Cerberus Server Base #4, Third Floor, 2255h

"Still got one floor left, people. Make Shepard proud," Jacob declared triumphantly. "I know I am. Best damn squad in the galaxy."

"Pride comes before a fall," a voice said right next to him. Before he could react, Thane slammed his forearm across Taylor's neck, nearly crushing his windpipe. The soldier began to choke, and thankfully just before Thane could shoot him in the stomach, Longoria threw him back across the room. The bullet only slightly grazed Jacob's side. He ducked as did the rest of his team behind whatever cover they could find.

"I am krogan!" Grunt screamed, fortified himself, and began to charge towards them all.

"Oh shit, everybody look out, he's charging!" Longoria exclaimed.

"I will hold them," Samara cried out and sent a wave towards him.

"That was…effective," the merc noticed as this merely sent their attacker back a few feet. "He's a fuckin' freight train! Somebody put this krogan down!"

Mordin threw out a grenade and the krogan stormed right past it. Longoria tossed out another field, this time to get him closer.

"Hit him with all the tranks you've got!" Jacob ordered.

"That ain't gonna put this idiot down!" Longoria argued as they pelted him with the darts. The krogan floated through the air for a few more precious seconds as Jacob held him, and she did an underhanded toss to land the grenade on his armor.

All of Jacob's squad members doubled back to their previous position, trying to avoid Thane's nearly perfect shots. The grenade went off and knocked Grunt to the ground finally. They sighed with relief.

"Fools. You do not comprehend that your frail bodies are meant for ascension," Harbinger stated as he made his grand entrance. He lifted his arms up and all of the Cerberus corpses that were dead suddenly returned to life. Only they weren't alive-they were abominations.

"Oh Christ almighty, what the hell are those?" Longoria yelled. "How original. Fuckin' zombies?!"

"Accept your fate and kneel before us," the reaper proudly continued.

"Only thing I'm gonna kneel at is your goddamned grave, Watson!" Jacob spat back and prepared his shotgun for action.

The abominations did not stagger; they ran towards the group.

"There's too many of them, ah!" Liara shouted as one hit her in the chest.

"All right these things are not from the Normandy. Permission to split wide open, Taylor?" Longoria screamed.

"Granted!" Jacob returned and threw up his barrier.

* * *

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way galaxy, 2302h

Shepard was amazed at how long the Illusive Man was lasting against his attacks. He was a tower of strength and had this fight not turned dirty, at the end, Shepard would likely have shaken hands with him. However, this was an all out battle of rage and nothing more now. It was man against man; blood poured from both of their mouths and noses as the punches still flew at one another. The amount of sweat dropping from their bodies was massive.

Shepard landed another solid right hook to the Illusive Man's cheek, then jabbed his solar plexus a few times. The Illusive Man lurched over and covered his face for protection. "Yeah! Smash him up!" Jack yelled.

The crowd booed him, and that apparently gave the Illusive Man enough strength to charge at Shepard head first. He flung his head into Shepard's upper chest, stunning him backward, and he thrust his fists several times into his cheeks and nose. With a loud crack, Shepard felt the cartilage separate and more blood seep from it. "I'm not licked yet, you son of a bitch!" he thundered and spat out any remaining blood that was in his mouth. "Just try it again!"

Shepard ignored the massive amounts of pain searing through his face and avoided the Illusive Man's next flurry of jabs and countered with a cross punch. He next threw a crushing blow to his opponent's jaw and swept him off of his feet with a low kick. "You're finished," Shepard announced.

The Illusive Man coughed and shook his head. "No, I'm not. Don't even think about it."

"I believe the agreement was 'last man standing'."

"No, I believe it was 'last man conscious'," came a voice from behind Shepard.

"Look out!" both Garrus and Jack shouted, but it was too late.

The assassin's foot whirled around to greet Shepard's face with a roundhouse. The impact of the blow caused him to lose his balance, and the Asian man's next lightning fast kicks sent him crashing down to the ground. He was out cold. The cheers from the crowd were nearly deafening.

"You goddamned cheat! He had beaten you in a fair fight!" Garrus screamed at the Illusive Man, who slowly rose to his feet.

"I'll kill you myself!" Jack's fury grew as she attempted to pull the Ochrana off of her neck and was sent to the floor in pain.

"Get him outta here," the Illusive Man motioned to Shepard. The guards chained him back up again and dragged his unconscious form out of the room. "And what're you two doing here? I let you go, that was part of the deal!"

"You can't do this!" Garrus brought up his fist and took a step towards the Illusive Man.

"It's time for Shepard to make one final sacrifice for humanity. You two may still leave, but don't try to interfere with the process." He wiped himself with the towel given to him by his female assistant and followed the guards out of the room.

* * *

Cerberus Server Base #4, Ground Floor, 2321h

"Where is everyone?" Tali wondered. Kal'Reegar and his twelve other marines cautiously led the way.

"No bodies, hmm…" Reegar noted. He halted everyone to a dead stop with the raise of his fist.

"There's blood everywhere, this doesn't make sense! Are we too late?"

"It could be a Cerberus trap."

"But Jacob and the team are in this base somewhere, they have to be! We saw some parachutes not too far from here!"

"I don't like this."

"Neither do I, Reegar, but we owe it to Shepard."

"Yes, ma'am. Continuing forward. Let's go, marines."

* * *

Cerberus Server Base #4, Third Floor, 2324h

"We're losing ground!" Jacob exclaimed. "Everybody, fall back!"

The horde of abominations kept charging at them relentlessly. What made matters worse is that Grunt regained consciousness and picked up his fallen weapon.

"Oh, dear. Situation does not look promising!" Mordin commented to himself. "Am running out of tranquilizer darts. Impressed by utter strength in krogan, but this is quite useless." He tossed away the pistol and got out his submachine gun.

"No!" Jacob yelled when he saw Mordin's actions. "Don't kill Grunt!"

"Will lay down suppressing cover fire. Do not worry!" The salarian backed away from an abomination, spraying it with several bullets.

"Keep at it! We'll get through them somehow!" Jacob growled through his teeth, even as he felt another husk get a lucky swipe in at his wounded side. Longoria kept firing her weapon tirelessly like a machine. They ran down the hallway and down the stairs to the second floor to avoid the undead creatures; however, they kept coming.

"Can't keep this up much longer! I'm gonna run outta clips!" Longoria told everyone.

"Take my weapon," Samara told her after reloading her submachine gun.

"What the, why?" Serena accepted the gun the justicar shoved at her and dropped her assault rifle.

Samara's entire body began to charge up her biotics. Liara took notice of this and dropped another abomination with her pistol before sheathing it. She also started to charge up an energy field.

"Are you two completely nuts?" Serena cried out in disbelief.

"This fight cannot be won with bullets alone!" Samara screamed furiously and sent all of her body's biotic energy at the husks.

"For Shepard!" Liara shouted and also sent her own wave of singularity at them.

For a few seconds, it looked as if the two mighty asari had the upper hand. Their throws and energy fields knocked back and swallowed the husks whole.

"Rar!" came a mighty roar. Grunt came once again charging down the stairs at the team, particularly towards Mordin, as if he had a personal vendetta to settle. "You're dead!"

"Retreat is my best option!" The salarian panicked and broke into a sprint.

"Somebody stop him!" Jacob yelled and fired off his last shotgun shell at the Krogan clone. "I'm out!"

Just as the krogan was about to close in on the salarian, a massive concussive shot hit him in the face. He was down for good this time.

Jacob's squad turned to see Kal'Reegar and his marines push forward. "Take that, you worthless animal!" the captain thundered. "Marines, take 'em down!"

"Keelah se lai!" the quarian marines all shouted and obeyed their commander.

Jacob's squad took these few precious moments to recover. Tali crouched down beside him. "Need one of these?" She held up her omni-tool with an application of medi-gel.

"Thanks, Tali. You're a sight for sore eyes," the ex-Alliance soldier groaned. "I just ran outta those."

"Keep going, men! Clear 'em all out!" Reegar incited his men, and the husks' numbers soon began to dwindle down to nothing.

Jacob felt his strength come back as they took back their lost ground.

Liara trapped Thane in a stasis field, while the marines riddled the remaining husks' bodies with bullets.

"It is time for action," Harbinger observed as his eyes glowed.

"Uh-oh, everybody get down!" Jacob warned them. "He's charging up!"

"Not yet! Break down his barrier!" Samara pointed to it.

The Normandy's squad and Reegar's quarian marines threw out energy drains, concussive shots, and overloads. The barrier finally fell after this massive barrage, and the shots finally broke through. The gunfire riddled Watson's body backward, now ripping through his suit shields and ultimately, his flesh.

"Pathetic form, releasing control," Harbinger declared.

Watson's body fell to the floor in a heap in an empty shell.

"Whew! Glad that's over with!" Tali smiled. "Keelah sa lai!"

"Keelah se lai!" the other marines cheered and raised their guns.

"Where's Miranda?" Jacob yelled. He put his shotgun back onto his belt clip and ran towards the server room.

Liara released her stasis field and took a few moments to rest, while Mordin and Samara followed their commander. Longoria wiped some blood from her face, and hobbled over to her unknown employer. "Got some medi-gel for me?" she breathed, to which Liara nodded.

"Oh, no," Jacob muttered to himself when he opened up the door. Miranda's practically lifeless body lay not far away, and he bent down to examine her. Mordin activated his omni-tool, gave her some medi-gel, and checked her vital signs. "She's not, is she?"

"Hard to say. Let's get her back to the Normandy ASAP. Will do what I can. Hope Dr. Chakwas will be up," Mordin replied gravely.

The teams recovered their wounded members. Thankfully, Joker was conscious and brought the Normandy down just outside of the base just as the heroes exited it.

* * *

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way galaxy, 2322h

The Illusive Man shoved a medical technician away from himself as he stared into the next room where Shepard lay. "How is he?" he spoke into a microphone.

"We're doing our best, sir. His body needs to heal," one of the surgeons replied. "We would suggest for the best outcome of this procedure that you give him some time."

"How much time?" He lay an ice pack upon his very sore jaw.

"Can't say-he's still human, sir."

"Give me an estimation."

"Ah…" the surgeon paused to think. "He needs a good night's rest."

"The sooner we start this, the better," the Illusive Man's tone became impatient.

"His body may not be able to withstand this technology in his current state, sir!"

For the first time in a very long while, the Illusive Man raised the volume of his voice. "Then fix him up so that it can! There's no more time to waste! This will be humanity's best weapon against the Reapers and secure our dominance in the galaxy afterward!"

"We'll do our best, sir," the surgeon replied uneasily.

"You'd damn well better or else!"

* * *

Outside the operating rooms, 2324h

"Our best bet is to contact the Normandy," Garrus whispered to Jack, who was kneeling down beneath the windows beside him.

"Yeah, and since it looks like we're near a science wing or something, maybe I could find a way to get this thing off," Jack replied, pointing at her collar.

"I think I saw some soldiers coming out of that room. Don't know what it is, but do you want to check it out with me?" He motioned with his head across the way.

"Can't hurt," she shrugged.

Garrus crouched down below the door's window and turned the handle slowly. It was a surveillance chamber with a huge amount of security cameras. The two sentries that sat behind it watched the multiple angles. One operated the camera controls while the other kept his eyes peeled on as many monitors as he could.

"Did you hear about the fight between Shepard and the Illusive Man?" one asked the other. Their backs were turned to the door; they did not hear Garrus nor Jack creep inside and stay in the shadows.

"Hear it, I saw it!" the other one burst. "Wish I'd had some money on it. Came really close to the end…almost thought that the boss was gonna lose!"

"Wasn't really all that fair."

"Let's face it, life ain't fair. You gotta play dirty sometimes."

Shepard's two squad mates sneaked closer to the desk. Garrus held out his fingers.

"Yeah, but, he-"

One, two, and on three he and Jack knocked both of the guards out.

"Quiet, just the way I like it," Jack whispered. She and Garrus took the guards' pistols as well as as much spare ammo as they could find around the office. Garrus studied the security monitors for a few seconds.

"There, looks like a lab just two doors down to our right. Ready?"

She locked a clip into her pistol. "Locked and loaded," she agreed.

Garrus scouted the corners, found that they were completely empty, and they made a break down the hall for the lab. Once inside, it was relatively easy to scare the scientists. "Don't move!" Garrus ordered. All three threw up their hands, but one edged back towards his table and began to go for a gun.

"Touch it, and your hand is gone," Jack barked and held up her pistol to his face.

"What do you want?" a red-headed male in his thirties panicked.

"First of all, you're gonna take this thing off of my neck," she motioned to the Ochrana collar. "Then, you're gonna tell us where your communication office is."

"Please don't kill us!" another male scientist whimpered.

"That depends on how fast you're willing to do what I want."

"You'd better do as she says. She was a convicted murderer. I'd hate to see what would happen to you all if she went nuts," Garrus shrugged.

"Can I do it without the gun in my face?" the young scientist inquired. Jack backed off slightly but did not go too far.

"Don't try anything stupid either."

"What is that thing?" the third scientist, who could not have been more than twenty-one or twenty-two inquired.

"It's an Ochrana device. Dr. Jeffrey Harms invented it," the first one explained. "Protection against biotics. The subject that wears it cannot use his or her biotic powers, and anytime he or she tries to do so, they are struck by neural pain inducers."

"More work, less talk," Jack got impatient and waived the gun around.

"I need my assistant's help. May I ask her to do something?" he questioned Jack.

"It'd better be fast, and she doesn't leave the room."

"Lindsay, I'm going to need that wand over there on the wall. Do you see it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Bring it to me and stand by at the computer terminal." The assistant did as he asked. "Now this wand has a connection that must be made by a wi-fi point. On the terminal, you'll see a list of devices. Select 'minotaur' for the network."

"This better not be a trick," Jack started to get restless. "You've got thirty seconds left before I pull the trigger on any of ya."

"We're doing what you asked, I assure you," the lead scientist patronized the ex-convict. "Now, I need to calibrate the wand." He pointed it towards the terminal until it glowed green, and the LEDs on it signified that they were ready by flashing rapidly. "Good. I need for everyone to stand clear of me and the subject." The scientist lifted the wand towards Jack. "I must insert this into the collar manually to deactivate it."

"Time's running out. Act fast." He crept towards her and affixed it. Suddenly, the collar's seals broke, and Jack tore it off. "RAH!" She let a shockwave loose and threw the scientist who helped her off of his feet. She unloaded three shots into his head and took aim at the other one.

"Jack, don't!" Garrus pleaded, but it was too late. The rest of the magazine fired off into the innocent scientist. After she reloaded her clip, she recognized that only the young woman was left. She was cowering behind a workstation but not before Jack found her.

"You…get up."

"Please don't-"

"If I wanted you dead, I would've shot you down already. Now you're gonna show us where that communication office is. We're all gonna walk there like we're good friends on a tour of the place. Then we'll see."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Normandy SR-2 Medical Bay, 2348h

Jacob traveled into the infirmary. "Dr. Chakwas? How is she?"

"Very lucky. She's still in critical condition and can't go anywhere for a while, but," the doctor replied with a smile, "give her time and rest, and she'll be right as rain."

"How much? Are we talking hours or days?" He glanced down at Lawson, who had tubes going in and out of her nose and arms.

"Well, since she was genetically modified, she will heal more quickly than you or I. But she did suffer a lot of trauma…and speaking of trauma, how are you doing with your condition? Not long after this whole adventure began, Ms. Lawson informed me that you were not feeling well."

"I'm okay." He shrugged.

"Did you ever visit Dr. Michel?"

"No, but I promise to go after this is over."

The doctor unrolled her sleeve and carefully inserted a needle into her vein that was connected to a phial. "I'll be needing some blood from you, then."

Jacob grimaced. "Again?"

"You were the only organic not affected by the reaper's indoctrination. Surely you understand at this point why this should be examined."

"Guess that makes sense. Think somebody can make up an antidote to counteract the Reapers?"

"Precisely. I intend to take this specimen to some of my colleagues back on Earth."

A few minutes later after she sealed both phials, she put them into a refrigerator. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got Ms. Lawson's vital signs and status hooked up to my omni-tool. I think that I'd like to retire for the evening, it's been a rather busy day."

"Of course, Dr. Chakwas, thank you for saving her." After Chakwas departed from the medical bay, Jacob squeezed Miranda's hand. "You'd better not die on me or Shepard, Miranda. Can't think of someone he'd rather have at his side. You know, he asked me about you, about what makes you tick. I still don't get it some days, but for the time we had together, it made me into the man I am now, and I thank you for it." He released her limp hand and walked out into the mess where most of the other squad mates were having a late meal.

"Legion, how're you and EDI doing with that data decryption?" Jacob touched his hand to his ear to speak into his radio.

"We have downloaded 75% of the Cerberus servers' data into EDI. It is a large quantity of information and will take half an hour longer to complete the task," the geth replied.

"But what about decrypting it?"

"There is much scrub or junk data to siphon off. Between the two of us, we estimate that it will take one month."

"We don't have one month! We don't even have one week!"

"We suggest an alternative method to filtering Cerberus data servers for location of Shepard-Commander should you not want to wait."

"Yeah, thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Jacob sighed and broke off radio communication. "Well, I don't like doing this, but for once, we need to go on the offensive," he told the rest of the team members.

"How so?" Liara inquired.

"I was doing some thinking earlier. We could lure in the Illusive Man."

"He's already got Shepard, what more could he want?" Tali broke in.

"This ship was a major asset, like Shepard, for Cerberus. Now that it's got better armor plating, fortified shields, and has a helluva lot better set of cannons, it's all the more tempting for him to get back. I say we pull off a Trojan horse scam."

Most of the squad mates all looked at one another for guidance, with the exception of Samara, who nodded with understanding. "I know precisely what Commander Taylor means," she said and began to recount the story to all in the room.

"Ah, that was a brilliant human idea!" Mordin happily exclaimed. "However, we must find a way to fool Cerberus scanning equipment. Will definitely detect heat signatures aboard ship. If Cerberus observes hostile activity, will take evasive action and operation will fail."

"That's why we need to leave the ship running operationally." Jacob held up a finger to make his point. "We leave the working crew aboard here to make it all look legit except for a few of us that are hidden on board to make the surprise happen."

"Hmm, can supply up to three crew members with cloaking devices. Suggest one for each deck, perhaps?"

"My shuttle is also equipped with a cloaking device," Samara spoke up. "We can take the remainder of the team down to the planet's surface or cloak in space until the time is ripe."

"I volunteer to hide on the Normandy," Thane and Kasumi both announced with hands raised.

"Okay," Jacob nodded. "Now we need one more person."

"That'll be me," Serena announced. "I always love a good ambush."

"Now it's up to me to set the bait."

"Commander Taylor, there is an incoming call for you," EDI informed him.

"Mordin, can you see to it that Kasumi, Thane, and Serena are properly equipped? I'm gonna go take this call in the debriefing room."

"As you say, Commander Taylor," Mordin nodded submissively.

One minute later in the debriefing room, Jacob rushed into it. "Jacob, it's Garrus. Here are the coordinates for the base where Shepard is being kept. We're also on the inside but we cannot get to him without the Normandy's help."

"Looks like it's in the Hawking Eta cluster. Hmm…is this Cerberus HQ?" Jacob wondered.

"We don't know. Jack and I know that Shepard's alive...for now. But we don't know for how much longer…or what the Illusive Man's plans are." The turian looked behind himself.

"We've been made," Jack yelled as the Cerberus guards just tore down their makeshift barricades. There was some gunfire as the communication channel was left open, and fifteen seconds later, the Illusive Man appeared in front of the camera.

"Ah, Jacob, good to see you," he greeted his former employee.

"I'd say the same, 'cept I'd be lying through my goddamned teeth," Jacob growled. "Cut the crap."

"So, you know where we are now, I see. You should know that I could move our operation within two hours' notice, which is most likely how long it would take for the Normandy to get here."

"I've got a proposition for you," Jacob set his hands down on the table. "If I trade you the Normandy for Jack, Garrus, and Shepard, will you let them go?"

"Hmm…very tempting, Jacob. This ship was a significant investment as well as Commander Shepard. Tomorrow morning, after nine hundred hours, come to Cerberus and we'll discuss the arrangements. We will designate with a beacon as to where you may land the Normandy. If you come any closer or take the shuttle to try to infiltrate the base, I'll have Garrus and Jack terminated. Are we clear?"

"Perfectly."

"See you tomorrow morning. I'll have the beacon launched this evening."

* * *

Cerberus Operational Facility #24, orbit of Shamir, 847h

Normandy SR-2 Medical Bay

"Good morning, Dr. Chakwas," Jacob greeted her as he came through the door. "How's Miranda doing?"

"You can ask her that yourself. She just regained consciousness in the wee hours of the morning while everyone was asleep," Chakwas said and sat back down in her chair at her desk.

"Maybe I'd better not wake her up if she's still sleeping." The ex-Alliance soldier turned to exit, but Lawson sat up and cleared her throat.

"I'm not sleeping, Jacob," she called. "I've been getting plenty of that."

He crossed the infirmary to get to her bed and gave her a genuine affectionate smile. "How're you feeling?"

"I've been better, that's for sure. But I'm no worse for wear than I was after we finished the Collectors off."

"I don't remember Shepard having to drag your ass over his shoulder before we blew that place sky-high," Jacob smirked.

"Not exactly, no. But I meant now, at this precise moment."

"Doc, will Miranda be all right if I move her, or should I take her to a hospital?"

"Move her?"

"I'm not going to leave her in the infirmary while we let the Cerberus crew aboard to inspect the Normandy. They'd try to kill her. Chambers sent you a message detailing my plan, right?" Jacob inquired.

"She did, and I have to admit that I'm not having good feelings about it, Operative Taylor."

"I'd like my question answered, Doc."

"That's up to Ms. Lawson. She doesn't need a hospital, but I wouldn't plan on releasing her fit for active duty quite yet," Chakwas responded frankly.

"Wait, Jacob, what's going on?"

"I'll tell ya later, Miranda. Doc, you'll be protected by Kasumi, who will be here on this floor."

"I know, Jacob, I read the memo. You understand, though, it's just that the other crew members and I haven't quite mended psychologically from the Collector _or_ the Watson ordeal. It's getting harder to understand what a normal day feels like."

"I hear ya, and I'd much rather be out on the lake waterskiing at home or lyin' on the beach. Relief is gonna come soon, Doc…"

"Business as usual, then, Operative Taylor. We understand one another. And best of luck on the mission. We _all_ want Shepard back."

"Right. I'll do my best."

"Jacob, I'm coming with you," Miranda stated and extricated all the tubes from herself.

"But Dr. Chakwas said-"

"I need to know what the plan is if I'm going to be trying to avoid a direct confrontation, right?"

"Yeah. Come on, I'll explain it to you as we get to the shuttle bay in the elevator."

"Jacob, I think I owe you an apology…for what happened. I wasn't thinking with my head," Miranda began.

"No one was," he shook his head. "I don't blame you, Miranda. I blame the reaper…Harbinger. Let's go."

"I'll join you shortly…after I have a moment with Dr. Chakwas."

"Knock yourself out." He did an about-face and exited the med bay.

Miranda picked up her chart from the physician's bureau. "Chakwas, about Jacob's drepanocytosis…-could that be why he was immune to the effects of indoctrination?"

"That is my hypothesis, but it will have to wait until we can access some better equipment to fully study it. Trust me, Ms. Lawson, this is not something that I will neglect…not with the imminent return of the Reapers."

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Shuttle Bay, 858h

Samara's shuttle was way too crowded for Miranda's taste. Not only was she still not feeling entirely healthy, but she was also crammed into her seat in between twelve other quarian marines, Kal'Reegar, Grunt, and Tali. Liara fortunately was able to ride in the cockpit with Samara. The stench of sweat and the krogan was enough nearly to make Miranda keel over as the shuttle took off. She took comfort in remembering that she'd see Shepard soon. Alive. And in her arms again. The memories she had of watching him do something as simple as shave kept her conscious.

The plan was to remain in a cloaking field until Jacob gave them a signal or that they saw actual harm coming to him. Part of Miranda hoped something would happen-it was the only way she'd be able to get rid of the numbness settling into her arms and fingers from being squished.

The planet Shamir had red soil much like Mars, but unlike the fourth planet from the Sun in the local cluster, the temperature outside was not freezing cold. It was actually somewhat pleasant, minus the winds that seemed to blow that crimson sand everywhere.

True to his word, the Illusive Man arrived with Kai Leng, a scanning crew, and six Cerberus soldiers. "You completely understand that I don't trust you," he kept his voice raised because of the violent wind.

"Do whatever you need. I've got nothing to hide," Jacob told him and kept the bay to the shuttle entrance open. All of the Cerberus personnel minus the Illusive Man went inside.

"Where's the rest of your squad? Surely you didn't throw them out of the airlock last night."

"They've been taken care of. You'll get everyone you originally hired back, except for me and Miranda."

"Your service isn't part of the deal, Jacob?"

"I said I'd trade the Normandy for Shepard, sir. But I didn't say that I'd sell my soul to the devil."

"Fair enough."

Five minutes later, the scientists reappeared in complete good health, saying that all was in order, and that they were going to return to the station.

"Where are your assault troopers?" Jacob yelled.

"I said I wanted the ship clean. They're doing just that."

Jacob's expression hardened, and his hand reached behind himself to rip the shotgun out of his belt clip. "Pull them back."

"I can't. I don't have them in radio contact," the Illusive Man said and shrugged. "I think I'll start to compile that secondary list of dossiers for crew members that I nearly threw away the first time. What do you think?"

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Engine Control Room, 906h

Engineer Kenneth Donnelly set down his mug of coffee in its usual place to the left of his console and collected one of his data pads. "Okay," he yawned, "forward capacitors, starboard side. Check. Forward capacitors, port side. Check."

Engineer Gabriella Daniels preferred to do her system evaluation silently while listening to her companion drone on in his sexy Scottish accent. It gave her actually five minutes to watch him at the start of their morning shift without having to talk about work for once and imagine their relationship going forward instead of nowhere.

"I can't believe I voted for that dirty bugger Watson, Gabby," he lamented.

"I did, too, remember? We were all brainwashed," Gabby reminded him gently.

"Yeah, but, he was English. I mean, that, of all things, should've set me off into thinking that that was a bad idea."

"You Scots still hate the English?"

"Do Americans love Canadians for burning down their White House?"

"Point taken. Besides, Watson was from South Africa."

"Am I hearing things?"

"I dunno, maybe you should either cut back on the coffee or switch to decaf, Kenneth," Gabby suggested with a shrug.

"No, I thought I heard footsteps. Ah, I'll wager that the drive core's got something stuck inside of her or…maybe something's loose, needs to be tightened," Ken said, took out a screwdriver from his pants pocket, and walked towards the core.

"Yeah, I know someone who's got a few screws loose that need tightening," she muttered to herself, completely unaware of the Cerberus soldier that had been sneaking up on her. Fortunately, Longoria (who was cloaked) reached him first and killed him with a knife in his back. He fell to the floor with a loud thump, and made Gabby yelp.

Seconds later, Ken traveled back to her side. His jaw dropped when he saw the dead body and Gabby mortified in fear standing over it. "Gabby, did you-"

"Look out!" she pointed behind him.

Another Cerberus soldier was preparing to shoot him by screwing a silencer on his pistol but was interrupted with another knife in the back. He gulped in shock, dropped both weapons, and tried to grab Ken on his way to the floor. The male Scottish engineer stepped back and let gravity take its course. Serena Longoria revealed herself as she reclaimed her knives one by one from her dead victims.

Neither Ken nor Gabby could say anything. They were frozen with shock.

"Personally, if I were gonna bother to kill somebody with a silencer in of all places an _engine control room_, I'd recommend putting it onto the gun before doing the deed," Longoria commented. "Stupid idiot. Probably one of the Blue Suns' rejects."

"Ah…who are you?" Ken finally stammered.

"Name's Serena Longoria. You can call me your guardian angel if you'd like. The three troopers that were trying to kill you two on this deck are dead now."

"Three? I only see two," Gabby spoke up.

"He's near the elevator. I have to admit that that was playing dirty, but…guess he chose the wrong day to not call in sick." She sheathed the throwing knives back into her boots and set her golden locks into a ponytail. "Have a pleasant day." The Shadow Broker agent rolled up her sleeve, touched the omni-tool, and disappeared again.

Ken's mouth popped open. "I think I'm in love."

Gabby smacked him in the arm.

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Crew Mess, 910h

Serena Longoria crept through the entire crew deck only to find Sgt. Gardner in the mess giving a bowl of cereal to Kasumi Goto. "What? I woke up late-didn't have breakfast," the thief told her.

"I'm assuming that this area's clean," Longoria mused.

"Certainly. Cerberus moron corpses are in the battery. All three of them came up in the elevator one at a time."

"One at a time? Easy work!"

"That's what I thought, well, along with 'good job, shit for brains'. Anyway, got a minute? Could use someone to chat with."

"Maybe after the bridge is clear. That Chinese guy didn't seem like your normal run-of-the mill Cerberus numskull."

* * *

Normandy SR-2 Combat Information Center, 912h

Although he'd been ordered to kill all personnel aboard the Normandy, Kai Leng decided not to waste his energy. He knocked out Yeoman Chambers and all other service personnel rather easily. Unfortunately, one of the servicemen managed to get a shot out with a pistol. Thane, who had been cloaking right near the cockpit and Joker heard it. "Resume your normal duties, Joker. I will be here, do not worry." The helmsman nodded quietly. Thane hid himself near the Normandy airlock.

Leng tried to access the laboratory but found himself locked out, from both hallways. Frustrated and impatient, he ignored whoever was in there, and devoted his focus to his next target, which was to eliminate the helmsman. The Illusive Man had been reluctant to have Joker taken out, but Leng reminded him that pilots can be easily replaced, especially disgruntled ones from the Alliance. Although Joker was a fantastic helmsman, he was indeed loyal to Shepard.

Leng minimized his movements, knowing full well that the Normandy's floors were constructed of titanium and therefore, were quite reverberant. He was about four feet away from the helmsman's chair when all of a sudden, he got surprised from the side. Thane grasped Leng's neck in a lock and threw him down to the ground.

Leng rolled away from Thane, who was about to approach him and try for another grapple, and did a back handspring to get back up. He approached Thane carefully, trying to read the drell's next move. Thane kicked at him a couple of times, which Leng easily avoided. Upon his third attempt, he seized hold of Thane's leg and quickly twisted his ankle. His grip suddenly became more fierce as he now took Thane's calf and threw him to the ground. They struggled for position, in between trying to take holds upon one another with arms and legs.

Thane managed to get a hold of Leng's neck and held him down to his chest with all of his might, but Leng pounded his fist repeatedly into Thane's ribs. Thane tried to repel the punches but instead got himself trapped into another neck hold. He next attempted to free himself by slamming his knee into Leng's own ribs. This powerful blow finally sent the Chinese assassin backward and allowed Thane to gain the advantage of tackling his opponent face first downward.

* * *

Outside the Normandy SR-2, 915h

"This scheme would have been a brilliant idea had it never actually worked in history, Jacob," the Illusive Man gestured the ex-Alliance soldier's attention to the ship. "The Trojan horse could only work once, and it already did over three thousand years ago."

"Then imagine that there were two of them," Miranda said from behind him with her submachine gun drawn.

The Illusive Man turned to witness himself surrounded by the quarians, Samara, Liara, and Grunt. He raised his arms in surrender. "This won't stop anything from what's happening on the Normandy, you know."

"Your soldiers are dead," Jacob shook his head. "We were waiting for them."

"But you didn't anticipate my agent Kai Leng. Just how safe is the Normandy? You might want to ask your pilot, if you can get in touch with him."

"Call off your agent…_now_." Miranda's eyes narrowed as she raised her gun. "I want Shepard. No more questions, no more deals. And I won't take no for an answer."

"Could you truly do it, Miranda?" He stepped forward. "After all I did for you?"

"I believe I made myself _incredibly_ clear when I cut you off the last time that I was finished with you."

"Why? Because Shepard helped you save your sister? We already did that for you…hell, I even had to pull several strings for that idiot father of Oriana's to get a decent job-"

"Don't think that I'm not grateful for your help in the past. I am. But to order me to kill the very man you said was the final hope for humanity…something's changed in you. You're not the same man I knew when I first joined Cerberus."

"Sentimentality is not something I expected from you, Miranda. Shepard was a liability in the end for us, a loose cannon, for Cerberus. I should have let you have your way. He would've been far less trouble." He took a step towards her. "And I hope you're finding ways of paying for your rather expensive tastes with Shepard. There would be no problem accommodating them if you stayed with Cerberus."

"Tempting offer, but I think I'll stay with my decision. With all the liberties you took from me earlier in my life when I was younger and more vulnerable, the thought of pulling this trigger is all the more satisfying," Miranda groused.

"I'd rather die than give up Shepard to you." The Illusive Man crossed his arms. "He's that important."

"For once, _you're_ the one willing to make a sacrifice? How ironic."

Miranda felt her strength returning to her slowly but surely all throughout his conversation. It started to become pretty transparent that her former superior and pseudo-father was not going to acquiesce to her demands. Her mind began to play out all the contingencies-again, he still held the bargaining chip and would not let go of it…of Shepard. She remembered how he had once taught her not to let anything get in her way of what she wanted, and this situation was no exception. She would not back down for Shepard's life. Period.

"We both know that Shepard's not the only person you're worried about." He pointed his finger at her. "Would you abandon her?"

Liara and Samara eyed one another. They did not need to speak to understand what either asari knew would happen next. They both saw the tension rising in Miranda and the stubborn perseverance of the Illusive Man. Before Miranda's finger could come anywhere near the trigger of her gun, Liara captured her in a stasis field, and Samara threw the Illusive Man down to the ground so hard that the wind was knocked out of him.

"For Shepard!" Jacob screamed and led the rest of his Normandy teammates towards the Cerberus base.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Normandy SR-2 CIC, 926h

The battle between Thane and Kai Leng grew all the more fierce. For a while, Thane had the advantage on the ground, but Leng somehow wriggled free or managed to snap the drell's leg in an unnatural direction. Thane tried a couple of jabs to Leng's head, and once more, the human evaded them. He grabbed hold of Thane's right arm with his left, moved his hand up to the drell's shoulder while forcing the arm down, and kneed Thane in the chest. He quickly kept applying pressure with the arm and slammed his elbow mercilessly into the drell's spine. Unable to keep his balance, Thane fell to the ground.

He tried feebly to grab for Kai Leng's feet and wrestle the Chinese assassin to the ground, but Leng backed away. He instead shuffled around and kicked Thane in the ribs. That was all he needed, because soon, Thane was balling himself up as best he could. His breathing was labored and unhealthy; Kai Leng heard it. This changed his strategy completely now that he knew that his opponent was not properly breathing.

Without another moment of hesitation, he fell on Thane's upper body with his knees and began to squeeze as quickly as he could with his powerfully built thighs. Thane's eyes started to bulge and he beat upon Kai Leng's back heavily. The drell's attacks grew fewer as Leng straddled his airway passages. One last snap to the neck could end the struggle, and Kai Leng would be the victor.

Two seconds later, he felt an assault rifle and a submachine gun being shoved into the back of his head. "Ah-ah-not going to happen," Kasumi gloated. "There's no way you could take both of us out before a horde of bullets rip their way through you."

"Indeed," Leng admitted. "And why haven't you done so already?"

"I may be a kleptomaniac, but I'm not a sociopath who enjoys killing."

"We're gonna take a trip down to the elevator and see what your boss thinks of you and a failed mission," Serena told him. "All Cerberus agents are given cyanide capsules in their molars, am I correct?"

He turned and gave her a nasty scowl.

"Get up and carry him to the elevator," Kasumi ordered their captive, still at gunpoint.

"If I don't?" he smirked. Thane's breathing was erratic and raspy. Kasumi's finger switched off the safety as she knew time was short.

"My paycheck no longer comes from your organization, so I don't have to hand you back over to them. My gun's barrel is pointed right at the back of your skull, as is hers." The thief motioned to Longoria. "Your options are quite limited."

The assassin grunted in compliance, slung the drell over his shoulder, and carried Thane into the medical bay. Then the two women escorted Leng back into the elevator as Dr. Chakwas hurriedly began to dispense oxygen to the drell's deprived brain.

* * *

Just outside the Normandy on the surface, 930h…

Liara released her stasis field from Miranda and satisfied herself that Samara still had the Illusive Man at an advantage. Miranda gave her a wintry glare, and Liara held up her hand. "I understand you now, Miranda. Your devotion to Shepard is quite crystal clear. I apologize for my actions; surely you can see how I felt that they were necessary."

"Then why'd you do that?" she spat back.

"Revenge…or murder in this case…is not always the answer," Samara responded once she had knocked the Illusive Man comatose. "One day, the Illusive Man's death will be just. Right now, it is unjust."

"And just exactly when will that day be if not today? Shepard's life is in the balance!" Miranda shouted.

"No, it is not," Samara remarked and shook her head. "Jacob and the team are not too late, I sense it. However, Miranda, know this; as I came to Shepard's aid, so will I for you. We will destroy the Illusive Man together with Shepard. Do you truly feel that it would be fair to take matters into your own hands again, not knowing what horrors he's been inflicting upon Shepard?"

"And besides, right now, there are bigger issues to resolve in the galaxy," Liara added.

"Yeah, there are." Miranda nodded and ran her tongue over the top of her upper lip as she considered the larger picture. Samara turned and started to head towards her shuttle.

"I will prepare for a quick departure should Shepard be incapacitated or severely wounded," the justicar said. "The base does not seem that far away, but the team may demand a hasty departure."

"Will you require assistance, Justicar?" Liara inquired.

"That will not be necessary," Samara replied and glanced over her shoulder at the younger asari as she continued to walk away.

"Good, because I'd like to have a word with you," Miranda announced and secured her weapon to her weapon belt.

Liara turned towards her. "Yes, Miranda?"

"I'm well aware of your past relationship with Shepard, and though I rarely act upon premonitions, I have one that I'd like to clear up with you."

The asari crossed her arms. "You think that I still have feelings for him."

Lawson's eyebrows rose, and she shifted her weight to her left leg. "Am I wrong?" Her arms also followed suit to T'soni's.

"You're not. Understand that I never intended for all of this to happen, Miranda. I am truly sorry." Liara's eyes met hers. "But there is also something that you should know."

Miranda pursed her lips and clenched down her teeth. After a few uneasy moments, she broke the silence. "What is it?"

"Shepard wasn't sure of where you two stand. Perhaps you should clear that up with him."

"Our relationship is none of your business."

"It was a few days ago, and believe me, even if he hadn't said a word about you two, I would have found it out from another source."

"I'm sure." The ex-Cerberus operative unfolded her arms. "Then you two have something to talk about as well."

Liara was about to respond to her comment, but they were interrupted by the appearance Longoria, Goto, and the ninja who had assaulted her base.

"Oh, damn, I was hoping that he'd be up and about to see his ninja's failure," Serena's lips made a sound as she parted them, and walked towards their group, keeping Kai Leng in her sights.

A random explosion from inside the base drew all of their attention away from the assassin, who took advantage of the situation, cloaked himself, and disappeared from their sight instantly. Samara's shuttle instantly took off towards the complex. "Damn," Longoria shrugged. "Oh well. Win some, lose some. I'd better stay here while you all get Shepard back to take care of him." She gestured to the Illusive Man.

"In what way?" Miranda's suspicions flared up.

"I've got to keep my day job." She hunched over the Illusive Man and monitored his vital signs with her omni-tool.

"You hired a Cerberus agent?" Miranda whispered to Liara, who nodded.

"She's part of the Broker network…has been for the last three years," Liara responded. "She doesn't know who I am, so let's make sure it stays that way."

"No worries. I appreciate the help and look forward to hearing what she exactly contributed to this mission other than getting you and Mordin out to the Normandy."

* * *

Forty-five minutes later…

Jacob's team returned with Jack, Garrus, and most importantly Shepard. He had been too drugged to walk on his own, so Grunt volunteered to carry him all the way back to the shuttle. In fact, he rather insisted upon it, so rather than pick a fight with a stubborn krogan, Jacob let him have his way.

Miranda was expectantly waiting with the other two asari in the shuttle bay. He'd never seen her with a more worried and tense expression. "Let's get him to Dr. Chakwas...now," she ordered. "We need to see if he's got any indoctrination nano-tech inside of him."

Grunt silently did as she asked and set him down gingerly on a bed in the infirmary minutes later. Miranda snagged a lab coat from her office, returned to the medical bay, and began to place her hands underneath the sanitizer when Dr. Chakwas placed a hand on her shoulder. "Operative Lawson, I would appreciate it if you would let Dr. Solus and myself do this together. I realize that you are a very skilled and well-trained medical officer, but-"

"You seem to forget that I supervised the staff that put Shepard back together," Miranda hastily replied and continued to the let the machine clean her hands.

"Understand doctor-patient relationship, Miranda. Know you are more than capable of completing work. Reasons for this request psychological," Mordin piped in.

"You don't think I'd listen to either of you?"

"No. Doctor-patient relationship must remain objective in this situation. Suggest compromise of logic or perhaps…" he cleared his throat cautiously, "judgment due to relationship with current patient."

"I see." The former Cerberus operative withdrew her arms from the sanitizer and crossed them against her chest. "You don't think I'll make the right call if the situation were to go wrong. I could say the same for both of you."

"You know that's not true, Ms. Lawson. People talk," Chakwas commented and shook her head no. "I don't spread gossip myself, but unfortunately, I do share meals beside some of the ones who do. Shepard's relationship with me is totally platonic."

Miranda's eyes traveled from Mordin's to hers as the human doctor made her last statement. As her mind processed Chakwas' observation, her eyes contracted and expanded quickly. The salarian proceeded towards the sanitizer himself and began the process with his arms first.

"Relationship with Shepard also purely nonphysical. Understand this entreaty difficult, Miranda. Have seen your interactions before, during, and after missions. Motivations understandable, especially leading up to mission of attacking Collector base. Approve of partnership; pairing is extremely…complimentary," he gave a raise of his eyebrows with a closed mouth smile. "Shepard very passionate, full of emotion, believe him to…humans call expression 'wear heart on sleeve' while you do not. Shepard also very sporadic-"

"You've made your case," the Aussie announced brusquely, and she walked out of the medical bay without another word.

Although it killed her to do so, she anxiously waited with the rest of the Normandy team outside of the medical bay so that Mordin and Chakwas could work quickly.

Minutes seemed to tick by like hours. Eventually, the rest of the squad mates broke down to eat a late breakfast, but Miranda refused anything Gardner offered her save for a cup of coffee. She kept her eyes peeled upon that window, looking for any sign of trouble or hope. If the floors weren't made of titanium, her boots would surely have worn a hole in them from all the pacing she was doing.

"Miranda, can you lay off of the caffeine? Some people's nerves here are already a wreck," Tali called out.

The Aussie halted instantly; her head snapped in the engineer's direction. "Don't you have work to do downstairs?" Her frosty tone practically slapped Tali in the face.

The quiet chattering that had been going on among Normandy crew members suddenly came to a dead stop. Silence fell upon the mess for the next fifteen minutes as if a colossal edifice had just collapsed on an unsuspecting population without warning.

Finally, Mordin and Chakwas emerged from the medical bay. He had a relieved but puzzled expression on his face; Chakwas' British stoicism was more difficult to read.

"Well, we didn't find anything. It's possible that the Cerberus scientists didn't begin to start their experiment. He suffered some slight internal injuries from some street fighting…or at least, that's what Dr. Solus has concluded that the contusions all over his upper body are from. We sent some nano-machines in to repair the damage," Chakwas explained. "Mr. Taylor, you said that he was on an operating table with surgeons standing round him, correct?"

"I guess," the ex-Alliance soldier told her. "Nobody was trying to cut him up or do anything except monitor his vitals. I think they had just stitched him up and were trying to figure out what to do with him next."

"I'd like to see him. I'll be able to tell you right away if he's still himself." Miranda shoved her coffee cup into Sgt. Gardner's hands and made her way into the infirmary.

"Be careful, Miranda," both Liara and Samara said together.

Miranda gazed down upon his sleeping face, came alongside the bed, and ran her hand along his cheek. She trailed it down to his chin and stroked his beard back and forth, as if she were stroking a pet's fur. Her ministrations caused his throat to rumble lowly and he turned his head slightly. Gradually, Shepard's eyes opened to witness her hovering over him. "Oh, no, not again…just _how_ dead was I this time?"

She released her hand from his face, shook her head, and balled up both of her fists at her sides. "You vicious son of a bitch, don't you try to leave me."

"How could I possibly do that? We haven't even touched the sheets in your cabin yet. And speaking of which, is it too late to ask for Asari cotton? Or what was that one plant that grew on Earth…mmm…bamboo?"

She let out an exasperated sigh, rolled her eyes, and finally let out one laugh. "Oh, it's definitely you, all right."

"What?" he asked, clearly stupefied. He gazed over at the bed next to him. Thane was hooked up with several tubes and an oxygen mask. "What happened to him?"

"I'll explain later," Chakwas replied. "In the meantime, there are some people here who are dying to see you." She made a motion with her hand to everyone else outside the lab who was gawking at their interaction that all was right.

Everyone came inside to give him their greetings, and he even had the stamina to sit up. "Thank you. I'm not sure how long I've been gone, but…Miranda tells me that each and every one of you was kind enough to give 110% for me. I couldn't have gotten out of that hellhole without you; I'm very moved."

"Yeah, well, we just wanted to blow some more Cerberus stuff up," Garrus joked. "You were just a sideline."

Shepard started to laugh but had to grab his ribs because they hurt. "Aw. That's just cruelty."

"Any idea of where you'd like to go, Commander?" Joker's voice boomed through the ship's P.A. "Glad to see you back in one piece. I think. He did come back in one piece, didn't he, EDI?"

"Affirmative," the AI replied noncommittally.

"Well, good. And contrary to popular opinion, it has not been quiet on the Normandy in your absence."

"Set a course for Osun. I'm sure Liara would like to get back to her base," Shepard told him. "Then perhaps the Migrant Fleet."

"I cannot tell you enough times how sorry I am about all of this." The maiden asari went over to his bed and grabbed hold of his arm. "I should've been more careful. This whole ordeal was my fault."

"It's forgotten, Liara, behind us. I'm here now, relatively unscathed." He grimaced as he felt a spasm hit him suddenly. "No grudges, this makes us…argh…even."

"And now I must ask that all of you allow Shepard some time to mend, even you, Ms. Lawson," Chakwas chided her. "I'll call you when I think it's appropriate for him to have some visitors."

As they all filed out of the medical bay, Liara gave her a pleading look, and Chakwas silently gave her a nod. The asari turned and rushed back to Shepard's bedside. "Can we talk, Shepard? I know you need your rest, but-" she began.

"No, you're right. I owe you that much." He closed his eyes as a pang hit him and squeezed his feel good button. With a sigh of relief, the morphine flowed throughout his veins. Shepard noticed Liara's eyes fill up with worry, and he gave her a half smile. "Aw, come on, Liara. It's not that bad. Just don't expect me to make a whole lotta sense for the next five minutes."

"Well, if you're not thinking clearly…-" The asari lowered her head and was about to turn away when he grabbed her hand.

"Quit overanalyzing everything, T'soni. I just won't be able to use big words or start talking about how the protheans did this and that. Although listening to you explaining anything scientific still turns me on."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I see. And what about when Miranda does it?" Their eyes met.

"Same effect," he confessed, let his head fall back onto the pillows, and released her hand. "I…I'd kill for you, you know that?"

"Please don't make this any more difficult than it already is, Shepard," Liara stated, feeling tears rushing to her eyes and closed them.

"I'm trying. Meds aren't making this any easier, I tell ya." He paused to concentrate as objects had begun to move about the room around him. "But I don't want to keep hurting you two. Both of you have given up so much; this isn't fair to you. Please forgive me."

"So who do you want, Shepard?" Liara sniffled, wiping the tears away. "I've killed for you, too. And I still will."

"No," he shook his head. "Don't."

"Does this mean that you won't be coming back to Hagalaz?" She ran her fingers back and forth across her collar-bone nervously.

"As a lover, no. But, how 'bout as a friend? Is your door still open?"

"Always. Thank you for your honesty, Shepard." Liara beamed wistfully and gave his cheek a caress. "I'll always cherish that night before Ilos." With that, she left the infirmary, and Shepard turned on his side.

"So will I," he murmured before slipping off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Orbit of Migrant Fleet, Normandy SR-2 Shuttle Bay

The next morning, 949h…

The quarian marines boarded their shuttle, and Shepard gave a hug to Tali as well as a deep handshake to Kal' Reegar. "You're true friends. I cannot thank you enough," he told the both of them.

"Watching you wake up was a relief. We weren't sure of what to expect after hearing about what happened onboard here," Reegar admitted.

Tali touched him on the arm. "This doesn't bother you, I hope? I mean, my leaving the Normandy so soon again?"

"You're not going to try and get yourself exiled again, are ya?" Shepard smirked.

"I'll try not to. The Admirals are still infighting and elections for my father's seat are still 'up for grabs', to so speak." She sighed. "Some days, I just want to shake all of them up and make them all understand the grander scheme of it all!"

"What was it like when you left?"

"I'd been showing them evidence that the geth's allegiances had changed. Don't worry, Shepard, I didn't say that you were responsible. Admiral Daro'Xen is still upset with you for the Alarei, so I withheld that information."

"I appreciate that. Anything else?"

"We're still a long way from complete peace. Maybe we can forge a truce somehow. I don't see Admiral Han'Gerrel budging from his position, though."

"Well, don't let me stop you from doing so," he came forward and gave her another hug. "I'll miss those chats we had down in the ECR. Come back soon, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."

"You can definitely count on it, Shepard," she giggled and joined her companions in the shuttle. "Keelah se lai."

"Keelah se lai." He waved his hand goodbye and hit the button to open the bay door. After the door closed, he took off his helmet and held it at his side. Jacob, who had been with him the entire time, removed his mask as well. "I'd like someone to tell me what happened to Thane. I know you'll give me a straight-up answer."

"He nearly gave his life trying to save the bridge," Jacob responded. "But that Cerberus agent was a little too good. Kasumi said that by the time she and Longoria got up there, he'd almost killed him."

"Damn...things really got exciting here, didn't they? He was starting to trust us, and I think he was actually making a little bit of headway with his son, too. Dr. Chakwas wants us to move him to a hospital for proper care. I'll be taking us to Nos Astra next, so go ahead and tell Miranda to announce it to the crew." He stroked his beard for a moment and then had something strike him. "How'd you like being Commander?"

"Honestly, Shepard, I don't know how you do it. Man, it was _rough_."

"Ever think that you'd like to do it again?"

"No, no way." Jacob held up his hands and followed his superior up the stairs to the elevator. "At least, not without some R & R first."

"Sounds like a great idea. Excuse me for a minute," Shepard made his way into the port cargo hold where Grunt lived. He grabbed hold of the krogan's arm, pumping it up and down. "Thanks, buddy. Heard you hauled my ass outta there all by yourself."

"Hmmph. You're no feather, either," the krogan grumbled. "Since we're not a mission yet, I'd like to ask a favor from you."

"Shoot, Grunt."

"The females of Clan Urdnot have been sending me lots of messages through the extranet, and since, Wrex is trying to build up our strength…" Grunt began.

"I catch your drift," Shepard smiled and hit him in the arm. "You got quite a few breeding requests after we tanked that thresher maw."

"There was also one made for you, Shepard."

"Must've been a joke," the ex-Alliance soldier chuckled.

"Not really. Krogan don't joke about breeding much."

"Oh, right, sorry," Shepard grimaced. "Please, take all the time to…uh…strengthen Clan Urdnot that you need."

"Thanks, Shepard. Oh, you should know that after we defeated the Collectors and blew up their base, both of our requests went up triple fold," Grunt proudly announced. "You might want to come with me."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass," Shepard held up a hand. "It's not that I'm not grateful that a krogan lady would even consider me, I'm just…a bit apprehensive. You of all krogans know that I'm not xenophobic…"

"No offense taken, Shepard. When can we head for Tuchanka?"

"I'll set a course now." He left the room and made his way to the elevator.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes**-It is usually difficult to see a story end for an author, but it is a proud moment. Once the "Destination" piece is finished on this site, I am considering doing a re-telling of ME2 through this Shepard's point of view. It is merely a consideration at this point because it has been done by several others, probably by some authors who have considerably more talent than I. If anyone would be interested, please do let me know. Thank you to everyone for reading and may you enjoy this last installment.

Chapter Thirteen

Orbit of Tuchanka, Normandy SR-2, Shepard's Quarters, 1947h…

"I am glad that you are feeling better, Shepard," Samara told him as she sat next to him on the floor in front of his bed.

"Thanks to you and everyone else," he beamed. "Would you mind staying on the Normandy for a while longer…please?"

She made eye contact with him. "Why do you ask?"

"I've always enjoyed speaking with you; you make me feel at ease…like I'm with my mother." He looked away, restraining his emotions. "Since your missions mostly ran in asari space, you probably heard about me, but you only know what the media said. Jacob said that for a while they used to paint me like the Alliance golden boy." He stuck a fingernail along the back of his neck and scratched at some dry skin on his scalp.

"Shepard…" the justicar began.

"No, wait a minute. I want you to know something about me. Since you trusted me so much and let me in, I need to do the same to you. I…lost both of my parents on Mindoir when I was a teenager. That would be your equivalent of, hmm, let's say the age of 50, I think."

"So it was before you reached complete maturity and adulthood?"

"Yes. The batarians came and slaughtered many...those that probably wouldn't sell into slavery, I guess," Shepard remarked with a shrug.

"I have killed many of their race for their atrocities. Never have I witnessed such cruel and savage acts," Samara stated with a nod. "That was of course, until I was permitted to observe the krogan upon Tuchanka. Their brutal culture could use a justicar's refining touch."

"I think I remember you saying that this quote refining touch would require the use of many bullets."

"That is the only way many of them would understand the lesson, yes," she agreed and turned her head towards him briefly.

"Let me get back to the rest of my so-called legendary origin. After I climbed out of the garbage dump that was then my home, I enlisted with the Systems Alliance right away. Eight years later, we raided the moon of Torfan. I got the rest of my unit killed, and my superiors told me that what I did needed to be done. At the time of the attack, the revenge was sweet. I felt that everything that had been taken away from me had finally been paid for in full."

"You have done a few things that I would question as just as well, Shepard. But, you are not filled with an irredeemable evil. I have seen some acts of altruism from you. That is your saving grace from the Code."

"Uh…thanks, I guess." Shepard got up and sat on the foot of his bed. "Two months after that raid, I pulled out a holo of me and my parents and did some major soul searching. This wasn't the kid they had raised; this was a raving monster who needed to be put down."

Samara did not respond to him this time; she only tilted her head to the side.

"So it was from then on that I made a promise to myself to be a better person…if possible. That's why…I'm opening up to you right now. I've gotten over what the batarians did on Mindoir, but I don't think that I've told myself how much I miss my parents. Maybe it's just the sound of your voice that makes me feel safe. But I could use some reassurance right now."

"I did originally have a mission back in asari space that I wished for your help with," Samara continued. "That is why I originally came to the Normandy, but it was not an urgent priority. If I can assuage your fears, I will try and do so."

"I tried talking to Chambers, but…I can't seem to…make a connection with her. I know she cares, but she's never lost anyone close to her. She's got a huge family that misses her, writes to her, asks her to visit…"

"What troubles you, Shepard?"

"You've been around the block for a long time now." He scratched the back of his neck. "We must seem so impatient to the asari, wanting everything almost immediately, setting fast paced goals, and pursuing them passionately, sometimes even blindly."

"My opinion still remains the same of your species, Shepard. In fact, I am more inclined to trust yours because of you," Samara smiled. "You offer so much potential to the galaxy; I cannot wait to be by your side in battle again."

His expression dimmed. "I'm getting tired of it, frankly. I love exploring the galaxy, seeing what it has to offer, meeting interesting people like you, but it's wearing down on me."

"You're trying to be like Atlas. If I am correct, he is known for carrying the weight of the entire Earth upon his shoulders. Do you feel the same?"

"Yeah, it is getting to be a bit of a burden. I've only been there once, and even then, it was to attend an Alliance ceremony."

"Through and through, there are no doubts in my mind that you will succeed in no matter what you do or who you do it with."

"Thank you. I…wanted to ask your opinion on one more thing." Shepard shifted himself around a little. "What do you think of Miranda now?"

"From what I have witnessed, she has endured much heartache, like you. That will either bring you closer together or separate you completely. Perhaps two lost souls will not be so lost if they travel a road together." She arose, as did he. "When two people are meant for each other, no time is too long, no distance is too far, and no one can ever tear them apart. Miranda must put her past behind herself as you have and learn to forgive, especially herself. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go meditate upon the day's events, and I will pray that you find the peace that you crave."

"Certainly, and thank you for being here." Just as Samara left, Miranda passed by her, and the justicar tapped her on the arm. "He needs you; it is good that you came."

Miranda strolled inside Shepard's cabin to find him sitting in the chair next to his desk that was not far from his bed. He was deep in thought; his hands covered the back of his neck as he was hunched over. As her high leather boots clicked noisily down the steps leading to his bed, he did not stir. She ran her fingers through his hair softly and as he sat up, she bent down to slowly engulf his lips. Although parts of her wanted to pounce upon him like a ravenous tigress, this was not the time. He had been through a lot, and especially since Samara told her that he needed her, Miranda knew that her hungry passion could wait.

He let go of her first, but drew her into his lap, and she warmly embraced his head upon her breasts. "You don't know how much I've missed you," she began. "It felt like the ship had been turned upside down without you."

"How so?" he whispered.

"Jacob was hardly the Normandy's first substitute commander. First I tried…"

His head left its previous position and he looked upon her in wonder. "And _miserably_ failed," she finished. "Then unfortunately, when I went to look for help upon Feros, I ran into an old friend that I dated at university."

"Uh-huh, go on." He leaned back against her chest.

"His name was Dean Watson, from Cape Town, in South Africa. When I left my studies behind, I also did the same with him. As you know, Niket had been the only friend I'd kept from that life. Well, Dean and I met again at a party thrown by that Exo Geni corporation. He um…convinced me that he wanted to meet you as well as help you, so I brought him along."

"What kind of a guy was he like? You're using his name in the past tense," Shepard's hand found hers and began to intermingle with it.

"I'm getting to it," she exhaled deeply. "Sorry, Shepard, this isn't easy."

"I'm not going anywhere for a while," he lowered his voice.

"Watson joined up with the EIA, then became a spectre. From what I saw of his skills, he had definitely earned the title," Miranda recounted. "And after he saw how disunited the crew was under my command, he suggested a different course of action. He spoke so eloquently, so convincingly, Shepard. It was scary how much of a charmer he was. Then all of the crew had a vote in the matter…between Jacob and Watson. With the exception of two people, Watson won hands down." She swallowed a large lump in her throat and made eye contact with Shepard uneasily. "I wasn't one of the two people who voted for Jacob, unfortunately."

He listened silently, his face unreadable. However, his hand stopped caressing hers immediately and he lifted his head all the way up.

"Oh, God," she said and flickered her tongue across her lips. "You have to understand, Shepard…this wasn't the Dean Watson that I thought I loved back in college. He had _all_ of us under his sway eventually, except Jacob and Legion. I'm not sure how Jacob was able to resist doing so, but he was the reason why we were able to save you...and Legion. Watson had closed off all communications, and both Jacob and Legion worked to open it. They managed to do so, thankfully, because we all were so far gone that we turned against them. Then, Liara, Mordin, and that agent of hers came aboard with Samara. They freed Jacob and Legion and re-took the Normandy."

"Where were you in all of this?"

"I was with Watson and the others. He had us convinced that breaking into a Cerberus server base would give us access to your location. Foolishly, of course, the rest of us went along with the plan," she sighed. A shadow passed over her face as her expression darkened. "I murdered those people…without a second thought."

"You thought you were doing it for a good reason, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but now that I think of it…"

"Don't. I know you meant well-you couldn't have read through this guy's deception." Shepard reached for her hand again, but she removed herself from his lap and stood up.

"I was so goddamned blind until the end, and that was too late."

"Too late, how?"

"There was a Reaper in Watson-he called himself Harbinger," Miranda admitted. "He got into the Cerberus server and downloaded a lot of their data. I'm not completely sure about what he got away with, but some of the info looked like schematics for a mass relay. Cerberus had been trying, rather pathetically, according to him, to construct one. Maybe they were curious about how to reverse engineer the technology, maybe the Illusive Man was looking for other ways to prevent the Reapers from arriving, I don't know…"

"Go on, Miranda." Shepard stood as well.

"It was then that I realized that this man wasn't truly Watson. I attacked him, but he was too strong for me alone."

"How badly did he hurt you?"

"They had to carry me back; I wasn't conscious. But Jacob told me that they did eventually beat Watson. Harbinger disappeared from the planet-I'm willing to bet that he got that data, too."

He set his teeth, turned his back to her, and hammered his fist on the desk. "But they know how to build the relays; it's their technology. Why would he take the data?"

"Maybe it was so Cerberus couldn't keep moving forward. Didn't you report that Sovereign told you that they also built the Citadel? I don't know how Harbinger knew that they'd gotten a hold of some Reaper technology, but-"

Shepard's face became deadly serious. "We should go back to that base and see if there's anything worth retrieving."

"EDI and Legion have done that already, but as I understood it, decrypting that data isn't as easy as it would seem."

"Well, we seem to have some time on our hands now…hope it's a bit more than a few days." He sat upon the bed and patted the place next to him. Miranda cautiously joined him. "Liara told me about what you were prepared to do to the Illusive Man, and that she had to stop you."

"Yeah, I wasn't too happy about it at the time, but she was right. Both she and Samara intervened, actually."

"Can I ask why you went that far?" Shepard pushed a stray bit of her hair away from her face.

"He refused to give you up, wanted to die. He was _that_ damned determined," she remarked and shook her head. "And as you know, my finger was about to pull that trigger."

"You should know that…I'd made a deal with him. That's how I got some of these war wounds…he put up a good fight. I bet he did some boxing back in his day, and I would have won if his henchman hadn't surprised me from behind."

"Typical," she rolled her eyes. "He would break the rules just to save himself."

"So you'd really leave him again?"

"I should've left him after we started the very first mission." She scratched her nose and upper lip. "Now that I think of it."

"When were your first doubts?" Shepard inquired gently.

"The derelict Reaper ship. It was horrid-I met Dr. Chandana before I started the Lazarus project. We met on the planet Chasca in order to investigate why the colony was no longer responding to Alliance communications. You were there, too, just after we finished; I read those reports. Chandana had a brilliant mind and look what happened to him," Miranda sighed. "He had a wife and three little girls."

"I don't regret what I did, either, not for one minute. That Collector base _had_ to go. I'm glad that Jacob and the rest of the team got me out when he did. Those scientists were going to try and make me into a human Reaper."

"What else was part of the deal? You were actually considering it?"

"I didn't think that he'd go through with the terms. I made some pretty outrageous ones, but he honored them all…with the exception of the last one. Guess he figured that I was the best one to try the technology on, since his first attempt failed." He took one of her hands and began to massage it tenderly.

"I can't believe that you'd let him-"

"It wasn't for nothing, Miranda. Jack and Garrus were freed, the Cerberus moles in the Alliance are out, and if I'd won the fight, we would have had this conversation two days ago."

"How can you be sure that the Cerberus agents in the Alliance are gone?"

"He let me listen in on his radio transmission. It sounded legitimate."

Miranda eyed him carefully. "What was the code order?"

"Something like 'Hades is not merciful'."

She clinched her teeth and inhaled sharply. "I'm sorry, Shepard. That's not an order to permanently disband."

"It wasn't?" He let go of her hand.

"No, that sentence is code for a temporary halt to all operations. There's no specific time, but I would gather that they'll go back to their posts in the Alliance in a month or so, maybe sooner."

"That son of a bitch," he muttered. "I should've known better than to trust that double crossing, two-faced scoundrel…"

"Hey, come on. We'll get to him. Later." She took him into her arms. "I'll be right there with you. You nail him with the first bullet through the chest, and I'll hit him with the next one."

He returned her hug and suddenly tackled her onto the bed. "I knew that there was a reason why I almost won that fight. Couldn't stop thinking about you. Us. You're nothing short of my everything."

"You're a bathetic fool, Commander."

"Damn straight I am."

"Oof!" She struggled with him and was about to start to charge up her biotics, when his grip got stronger. However, as he hungrily pressed his lips to hers, she relented and instead wrapped her hand around the back of his neck to encourage him further. _Perhaps it was better this time to let him take charge_, she decided. _Just once._

He tore himself two inches away from her lips. "What's wrong, Lawson? Are you giving up on me already?"

"Not on your bloody life," Miranda smirked, let her biotic field charge for a bit, and wrapped a thigh around his hip. He lifted himself up off of her to see what she'd do and was met with pure bliss as her knee gently brushed against his groin. The subtle current made him flinch and harden. "But there is something I'd like to know before we even think about going on here."

"Nngh…this doesn't require much thought, does it? Because I honestly don't know how long I'm gonna last if you keep…" He caught his breath in his throat as she continued her ministrations. "Nnnah…if you keep this up."

The biotic field from her body disappeared, and she removed her leg from its previous position. Her eyes met his with a hard stare. "I need to know that these…conjugal visits with your former teammate are finished. This won't work if they continue."

"I promise you that she and I are finished. We had a night before Illos..."

She cleared her throat with an exaggeration as if to say 'bullshit'.

"I'm sorry, Miranda. You were right to call me a son of a bitch earlier." He withdrew his eyes from her and hung his head. "I don't deserve you. Maybe I'm no better than Jacob."

"Jacob wouldn't have encouraged me to talk to Oriana. On second thought, he might have, but he never would have persuaded me into doing so. He wouldn't have asked what we'd talked about afterward, unlike you."

Shepard lost his nerve and rolled on his back next to her on the bed. "I have another confession to make, but…well…it's not as bad as my first sin."

She turned into him and propped up her head upon an elbow. "I'm listening."

"While I was on the Broker ship once, I sneaked into some of Liara's intel. Some of it included an extranet conversation you had with your sister."

"Well, then that's the end of _that _chat room," Miranda said with the slight raise of an eyebrow. "I suppose I should say thank you for that."

"That's not why I brought it up."

"Then why did you?"

"I wanted to be honest with you. And…"

"And what?"

"And…I wanted to know what else you talked about. There was only an excerpt there," he grinned. "Any bedroom advice?"

Miranda's eyes flooded with fury. "She is _not_ going to engage…" Suddenly, she stopped herself. "Damnit, I sound just like my father again."

"Oriana _is _over the age of eighteen, Miranda." Shepard's fingers wandered across her stomach and landed upon her hip. "Like you told me, she's not a child."

"You can't blame me for being concerned."

"No, I can't . I was an only child, so I have no idea what it's like to have a sibling." He activated his own biotic field and suddenly pulled her closer so that their hips were indeed touching. "Wonder what she'll be like in say, seventeen years?"

"Assuming the galaxy doesn't end in less than one, you're looking at her."

"So am I forgiven?"

Her leg slid around his hip and gripped his entire leg as well as his left cheek. "Up for a little game, Shepard?"

He chuckled. "Guess I'll take that as a 'yes'. Ahem…what kind of rules are there?"

Her face traveled closer, just far enough away to brush her lips against his. "I'll let you know as we go along." Shepard was about to close the distance between them when she waved a finger in front of them. "And for the next two minutes, no lip to lip contact."

"That's complete torture, and you know it, Ms. Lawson."

"Do I?"

He wasted no time in arguing and sank his mouth onto her neck. "I'll prove it," he stated in between his caresses. "You're gonna be begging for them by the time I'm finished with you." Her biotic field reappeared and tingled his mouth just as his tongue was about to make contact with the outline of her jaw. He grunted and pulled back slightly, but only just enough to insert his fingers underneath her choker.

"How the hell do I-"

Miranda smiled, pushed his hands away, and gracefully removed the obstacle. Before she could place it onto his night stand, he viciously yanked her on top of himself and assaulted her neck again. Shepard's hands cupped her derriere and squeezed with just enough pressure that she let more than one gasp emit from her mouth.

"Hmm…how long do I have left, Ms. Lawson?" he asked, just inches away from crook of her neck and shoulder. "Clock's still ticking, isn't it?" Without waiting for an answer, his hands left her behind and slithered up her back. His fingers seared up her spine with feather-light touches and before she even knew it, one hand tugged along the zipper to her outfit.

"Oh, no you don't," she laughed and stopped him before he could completely undo the zipper.

"You said you didn't want any lip to lip contact. I gotta make up for it somewhere else," Shepard returned and sneaked his hand inside to tease just the underside of her breast. "Miranda Lawson…" he chided her in a lower pitched voice as his fingers felt nothing but flesh. "Were you plotting to seduce your commander tonight?"

"I don't lose any clothing faster than you do. Lips are back in." Before he could snicker for very long, she flung her hands around his neck and crushed her lips to his own in an open-mouthed kiss. Their hands roamed over one another as tongues entwined and lips moved upon lips.

Shepard tore himself away from her, his breathing ragged and ripped off his shirt. "Your turn," he whispered and lay back on the bed.

"Hmm, is it?" Miranda grinned devilishly and straddled him. She licked one of her index fingers, traced it along his ear, and then slid it down his neck and chest down to his abdomen. He squirmed under the biotic field both of her hands emanated there.

"Damn, you're not even touching me, woman, and I'm, well…I'm-"

"I can feel it, you ass," she chortled and intentionally rubbed herself against him.

"What kind of rules did you say we were playing by again?" When she hesitated to think, he immediately saw his chance to move, and tugged her zipper all the way down, nearly breaking it. Shepard shoved the soft material aside, grabbed her by the back, and immediately began to nuzzle one of her breasts with his nose. Barely a second later, his lips drew her skin into his mouth; his actions caused her breath to catch in her throat.

"I didn't think that you'd remember," Shepard broke away to say and released an invisible cloud of warm air onto the place he had just been. Since she didn't seem to be fighting for control of the situation any longer, he moved onto the other. Her fingers began to rake through his hair the wrong way, which only goaded him on.

"Commander, sir?" Joker's voice interrupted them like an unwanted relative.

Shepard groaned, a bit too loudly, in her opinion; the pilot hesitated before he continued to speak.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we are just about to dock in Nos Astra. I thought you'd want to know, since the executive officer was not up on the bridge to coordinate our arrival. I was hoping that you'd know where she-"

"Joker!" Shepard snapped.

"Oh, so you _do_ know. Damn, guess somebody owes me 20 creds, isn't that right, Matthews?" the hotshot jockey sneered.

"Screw you, Joker!" Matthews yelled back.

"ETA is about two minutes. Is there an all aboard time for the crew's shore leave, sir?"

Shepard sighed as Miranda scooted off of his lap and rubbed his eyes. "1300 hours tomorrow. And for you, Joker, 1100 hours."

"Hard ass. Don't forget that I have a disability."

"Would you rather I make it 900 hours, Joker?"

"Shutting up now, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Are we ever going to get a break?" Shepard grunted as he watched Miranda smooth herself over and straighten her outfit.

"You know I have an apartment here, right?" her eyebrows raised. As she made her way towards the entrance of his cabin, she turned to face him with a wink. "Meet you on the gangway in thirty minutes."

THE END


End file.
